The San Francisco 49ers had their second practice of the week on Thursday, and there were some notable players returning from injury, as well as missing another day.
Wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were not out at the beginning of practice for the second consecutive day. Pearsall continues to deal with a knee injury, while Valdes-Scantling has a calf injury, according to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows.
Pearsall has not practiced for two consecutive weeks, and is trending to
miss his eighth consecutive practice with the knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals and re-aggravated against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On Thursday, general manager John Lynch was asked about Pearsall’s injury during his weekly appearance on KNBR, noting that these injuries can be tricky.
“I don’t think worse than we initially thought,” Lynch said about Pearsall’s injury. “Wide receiver is a tough spot with certain injuries to come back.
“Ricky is doing the best he can to get back.”
Valdes-Scantling was not on the injury report on Wednesday. His missing practice, along with Pearsall, could put rookie Jordan Watkins in line to make his season debut this weekend. Watkins was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and was out there for the start of Thursday’s practice as well.
Both quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones were out there for the start of Thursday’s practice as well. Purdy has missed the last two games after re-aggravating his toe injury, while Jones has been dealing with knee and oblique injuries. Both were limited on Wednesday. We’ll see what their designation for today is soon.
In other news, right guard Dominick Puni was back at practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury.
Lastly, edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos remained out to start Thursday’s practice with hamstring and knee injuries. He is currently trending to miss his second straight week unless he can return to practice on Friday.
There were four players on the active roster who did not suit up to start Thursday: Pearsall, Valdez-Scantling, Fred Warner, and Gross-Matos, according to reporters. The full injury report will be out shortly.
