49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has let it be known the status of several injured players, with star quarterback Brock Purdy, who had a scare yesterday when a Bears defender went high on Purdy, but thankfully there’s no issues with him, according to Shanahan, so he should be fine to go Thursday night against the Rams.
As for star left tackle Trent Williams, and star defensive end Nick Bosa, their statuses are in doubt still, as Williams is still dealing with an ankle injury, while Bosa is still dealing with both a hip, & an oblique injury, so I’m guessing they likely won’t play Thursday.
49ers starting left guard Aaron Banks has cleared concussion protocol, and should be able to play Thursday, but his backup Ben Bartch suffered a high ankle sprain, and is headed for injury reserve, ending his 2024 season, unless the 49ers can make it into the playoffs.
As for weakside linebacker Dee Winters, strongside linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, & strong safety Malik Mustapha, all 3 are day-to-day, with Winters having an ankle injury, Mustapha both a chest & shoulder injury, & Flannigan-Fowles with a knee injury.
The 49ers do have good news, as they’re expected to activate weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw off of reserve/PUP, and make his season debut Thursday night against the Rams, while running back Isaac Guerendo suffered a foot sprain, but he said he’s fine, so there’s a good chance he’ll play against the Rams.
With Bartch heading to injured reserve, the following players will be on injured reserve, running backs Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, & Elijah Mitchell, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, center/right guard Jon Feliciano, center/left guard Ben Bartch, defensive tackle Kevin Givens, nose tackle Javon Hargrave, middle linebacker Curtis Robinson, strongside linebacker Tatum Bethune, cornerbacks Darrell Luter Jr., & Ambry Thomas, free safety/strong safety George Odum, & punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
That’s a total of 14 players on injured reserve, with 7 of those players suffering season-ending injuries, those being McCaffrey(PCL injury), Mitchell, Aiyuk(ACL tear), Feliciano(Knee injury), Givens(Pectoral tear), Hargrave(Partial Tricep tear), & Robinson(ACL tear), while the 49ers have already used up 5 of their maximum of 8 players that can come back off of injured reserve, those being, running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, nose tackle Kalia Davis, & strong safety Talanoa Hufanga, with the following players eligible to come off of injured reserve, Mason, Bartch, Bethune, Luter, Thomas, Odum, & Wishnowsky, but they only have 3 remaining spots to use.
If Wishnowsky is healthy, he’ll surely be on one of those 3 players, leaving just 2 spots for Mason, Bartch, Bethune, Luter, Thomas, & Odum, with Odum, if healthy, likely to be activated, & possibly Mason, if healthy again, but the 49ers season has been injury plagued, but I should note that the 49ers can bring back 2 more of these players, if they make the playoffs, as each team can bring back an extra 2 players if they make the playoffs.
With that said, I thank you for reading, and follow me on X/Twitter @49erscap, & on Blue Sky App @49erscap.bsky.social.
About Author
