Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images
It’s the second-straight week in The Meadowlands and the 49ers are in far worse shape than before their brutal New Jersey welcoming. They will be without at least eight starting players, including their starting quarterback, and best two players in George Kittle and Nick Bosa.
The 49ers’ injury report is less than ideal. The following players are OUT for Sunday’s contest with the Giants:
Jimmy Garoppolo: High-ankle sprain, could return next week, but status is week-to-week at this point.
George Kittle: MCL sprain, bone bruise. He returned to practice this week, but given the questionable turf at MetLife Stadium and the fact that it’s Week 3 against the Giants, it wouldn’t have made sense to bring him back so soon.
Raheem Mostert: MCL sprain. Week-to-week. Is currently in Ohio, where he and his wife, Devon, just welcomed the birth of their second son, Neeko Rafe Mostert.
Tevin Coleman: MCL sprain which is “worse” than Mostert’s, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Could be placed on injured reserve on Saturday. JaMycal Hasty will likely be promoted from the practice squad and play Sunday.
Dee Ford: Back injury, discernibly back spasms and is week-to-week. Shanahan said he is “concerned,” which is understandable given that at one point, there was a question as to whether Ford would walk again due to a herniated disc. He’s had serious back surgery, explained here.
“You don’t know whether it’s a day, a week or a month,” Shanahan said.
Dre Greenlaw: Quadricep. This one was a surprise. Initially called a thigh contusion, Greenlaw was limited in Wednesday’s practice before sitting out the rest of the week. Azeez Al-Shaair is likely to replace him at the SAM linebacker spot.
“He ended up being hurt a little bit worse than we expected,” Shanahan said.
Deebo Samuel: He’s eligible to return off injured reserve next week after dealing with foot soreness from his recovery from a Jones fracture and is expected to do so. It’s not yet clear if that means he’ll play against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I expect to get him back next week,” Shanahan said. “Whether that means the game on Sunday, I don’t know. That’s stuff that I don’t even think about until I see how he looks on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”
Richard Sherman remains on injured reserve with a calf injury and is eligible to return in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.
Richie James Jr. remains on injured reserve with a hamstring strain and is eligible to return in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.
Tim Harris Jr. remains on practice squad injured reserve with a hamstring strain and is eligible to return in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.
The only player who is questionable for Sunday is Ahkello Witherspoon, who, “…had a tight hamstring yesterday, tweaked it a little bit,” Shanahan said. “So we held him out, or he was limited today, so we’ll see how that goes over the next 24 hours.”
If Witherspoon can’t go, Shanahan expressed faith in Jason Verrett, who spent the previous two weeks not practicing with a hamstring strain. His one-time Pro Bowl career has been brutally derailed by injuries, but he practiced in full each day this week.
“Very confident in Jason,” Shanahan said. “He had a real good week of practice and he had a real good camp before he hurt his hamstring.”
The following players are on the physically unable to perform list and can return after Week 6:
Weston Richburg
Jullian Taylor
Ronald Blair III
The following players are on injured reserve and will not return this season:
Nick Bosa
Solomon Thomas
Jalen Hurd
Tavon Austin
Chris Thompson