49ers notebook: Reinforcements coming, but injuries and illness lead to strange week
There was some good new for the 49ers on Friday.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said cornerback Richard Sherman and running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. will be activated off injured reserve Saturday, giving them chances to play Sunday against the Rams. Plus rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was removed off the reserve/COVID-19 list and listed as questionable, and receiver Deebo Samuel is expected to play after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.
The bad news: None of the six remaining players on the COVID-19 list are expected to play. The only one with an “outside chance,” according to Shanahan, is left tackle Trent Williams, meaning receiver Brandon Aiyuk and defensive tackle D.J. Jones likely won’t play.
Shanahan and his team waded through a difficult practice week coming off the bye because the team was missing so many players due to injuries or illness. Friday, Fred Warner was the only active linebacker on the field while Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair were out with illnesses for the second straight day, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles remained out with hamstring injury and Joe Walker has been on the COVID list since Nov. 19.
That makes it likely practice squad member Jonas Griffith will make his NFL debut, perhaps as a starter, if Greenlaw or Al-Shaair can’t play, while safety Marcell Harris will continue to play in a hybrid role. Greenlaw and Al-Shaair were both listed as questionable after missing the last two practices of the week. Same for tight end Jordan Reed. Their illnesses are not COVID-related, but any player dealing with COVID-like symptoms is forced to remain outside the facility until passing a number of tests and symptoms pass.
The 49ers were expecting to be healthier and fresh coming off their much-needed bye. And while that’s true in the case of Sherman, Samuel, and the team’s top two running backs, much of the roster is still in tatters, which forced Shanahan to have light walk through practices Thursday and Friday, leaving just one normal practice on Wednesday to prepare for the 7-3 Rams.
“Just the challenges of being off a week, which everyone has on a bye week. That’s why you usually do a few things, but we weren’t able to because of the COVID stuff,” Shanahan said. “The biggest challenge was coming back, having a week off and knowing how much work we had to get to get crisp and really only getting in on Wednesday.”
Shanahan also mentioned the team’s practice squad defensive linemen, Alex Barrett, Josiah Coatney, Darrion Daniels and Willie Henry Jr., had to play both offensive and defensive line for the scout team this week because of the injury issues. Arik Armstead was coming off the COVID list, Kinlaw was unavailable until Friday’s session while Jones and Jordan Willis remained on the COVID list.
The Rams, meanwhile, canceled their practice Friday after two unnamed members of the organization had COVID test results that required further testing. Head coach Sean McVay said one player and staffer had tested positive Thursday before testing negative on Friday.
Shanahan said the league had not indicated there were plans to move Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff as the Ravens-Steelers game, initially planned for Thanksgiving night, was pushed to Tuesday.
“I haven’t heard about that,” he said. “I just heard about the Rams a little bit ago. Sounds like fortunately they came back negative, but I just heard about that and we’ll wait and see.”
Compton ruled out with concussion
Veteran offensive lineman Tom Compton, who had taken over the starting right guard job in recent weeks, reported concussion symptoms well after the team’s walkthrough Thursday and has been ruled out of the game, Shanahan said.
Compton didn’t report his issues to the training staff until after Thursday’s status report was sent out, leaving it a surprise development Friday.
“We didn’t notice it out at practice or anything because we were going at half speed, but he reported it after,” Shanahan said.
That means Colton McKivitz will make his first NFL start in Compton’s place with the unenviable task of going against All-Pro Aaron Donald. McKivitz had been rotating with Compton the past two games, getting 21 and 23 snaps against the Packers and Saints, respectively.
Shanahan said in the spring, before the team traded for Williams, that McKivitz would have been in the mix to replace Joe Staley at left tackle. But with Williams holding down left tackle, McKivitz has moved to the foreign position inside after spending his college career at tackle with West Virginia. The 49ers took McKivitz in the fifth round despite projecting him to go earlier.
“We didn’t think he’d get to the fourth (round) and his tackle tape was good with where we thought he’d go in those rounds, but we weren’t sure if he’d be exactly a tackle or a guard,” Shanahan said. “So, then the fact that we were able to get Trent here, it made us throw (McKivitz) at guard right away. We’ll see how it goes into next year and where he’s needed the most, but he’s gotten a lot of work at guard here since he got here. I thought he’s done a good job, that’s why we’ve been rotating him and Compton the last couple of weeks.”
▪ 49ers that were ruled out Sunday: RB Tevin Coleman (knee), Compton, Flannigan-Fowles and slot cornerback K’Waun Williams (ankle). Questionable: Al-Shaair (illness), Greenlaw (illness), Kinlaw (not injury related) and Reed (illness).
For the Rams, linebacker Terrell Lewis is doubtful while center Brian Allen (knee) and tight end Tyler Higbee (elbow) are questionable.
▪ The 49ers on Friday brought back receiver Jordan Matthews to the practice squad after spending time with the club during training camp in 2019 and throughout the regular season. He wore Dante Pettis’ old jersey No. 18 at practice Friday. The team released receiver Chris Finke, a former undrafted free agent from Notre Dame.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
