It’s Monday, and the San Francisco 49ers are returning to the practice field. It’s a big week, as it’s officially preseason. The team will hold a joint practice on Tuesday and then a glorified scrimmage for their first preseason game Thursday.
One player we’re unlikely to see is running back Christian McCaffrey. And that was before he sat out of Monday’s practice due to “tightness.” That could mean several different things, so we won’t speculate until the team provides accurate information. McCaffrey was already on a rep count according to Chris Foerster.
That means the top four backs aren’t on the practice field with McCaffrey, Jordan James, Kaelon Black, and Isaac Guerendo sidelined. That leaves Sincere McCormick, Patrick Taylor Jr., and Khalil Herbert. You know Kyle Juszczyk is itching to line up at running back.
Nick Bosa also missed his fourth straight practice due to “soreness.” It seemed like Bosa was progressing toward returning.
On Saturday, Kyle Shanahan said there’s no reason to be concerned about Bosa’s absence: “No. He was doing great, and then he got sore just going through some of the individual. You wish that didn’t happen, but no, there’s no concern to where something’s happened that is a big setback or anything. We’ll wait until the soreness goes away and evaluate why the soreness has happened, but I still feel pretty good about that.”
Wide receivers Mike Evans and Christian Kirk remain out, while De’Zhaun Stribling returned.
Rookie Carver Willis has cleared the concussion protocol and returned to practice. He’s lining up at left guard with the second-team, while Robert Jones continues to play with the starters. It looks like Connor Colby’s demotion isn’t temporary, as he’s been a second-team right guard the majority of the time.
Klay Kubiak is scheduled to speak after practice, so it’s unlikely there will be any updates on the injury front.