The San Francisco 49ers’ injury report had a couple of changes on Thursday. First and foremost, Christian McCaffrey was listed as limited because of an illness. The media gets to see roughly 10 to 20 minutes of practice. It’s mostly stretching and the individual drills portion. According to the reporters on hand, McCaffrey was on the field for the early part of the session, but did not do much after ten minutes.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, McCaffrey “didn’t look terrific in the locker
room after practice.” It’s Thursday, and it will take a lot more than being sick to prevent McCaffrey from playing. But you want to make sure one of your most important players is 100 percent. If McCaffrey isn’t, there’s little reason for him to practice. He’s the workhorse for the offense.
The other change was defensive tackle Kevin Givens returning, after missing Wednesday’s practice due to a personal matter. Givens has not played since Week 10.
Trent Williams returned after his usual vet day off on Wednesday.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke practiced for the second day in a row, as did kicker Eddy Pineiro. Here’s what Kyle Shanahan said about getting Rourke back:
“Really, it’s just nice to get him back. He’s been working to be healthy, to get out there on the practice field. We’ll see how he does in these three weeks. [QB] Adrian [Martinez] not being here will allow him to get up more reps on scout team. He will still be doing those with [QB] Mac [Jones] too because Mac’s got to get his reps in. But, it’s really just evaluate him for these three weeks and see where it goes.”
Linebacker Tatum Bethune and edge rusher Sam Okuayinonu missed practice once again, as did Nick Martin (concussion). The former two are recovering from high-ankle sprains and are unlikely to suit up this week. Both will be valuable going forward against three run-heavy teams, so it’s critical for them to get healthy without rushing them back.
