SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The injury list for the San Francisco 49ers went through a bit of a shuffle with a few key players returning from injuries Tuesday while significant questions remain on several others just a week before NFL rosters will be cut to 53 players.
Starting cornerback Renardo Green was at practice for the first time since injuring his hamstring late last month and running back Isaac Guerendo returned after missing about two weeks with a shoulder injury.
San Francisco got a handful of other players back on Tuesday who had missed less time with defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Jordan Elliott, Sam Okuayinonu and safety Jason Pinnock back.
But the news wasn’t all good with backup quarterback Mac Jones sidelined this week with a knee injury that is not expected to keep him out for the season opener and backup running back and special teams stalwart Patrick Taylor going down with a season-ending shoulder injury that landed him on injured reserve.
With several other players still nursing injuries that are keeping them out of practice and putting their availability for Week 1 in question, planning the initial 53-man roster is a difficult proposition.
“It’s a really complicated thing that we really can’t talk about enough because it’s always changing each day,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It will be all the way up to when we make that decision.”
The biggest questions appear to be at offensive line where left guard Ben Bartch (left elbow) and and right guard Dominick Puni (right guard) are out with injuries that could sideline them for Week 1 and at receiver where Jauan Jennings is still out with a calf injury.
Jennings, who is also seeking a new contract, has been sidelined most of camp with a calf injury that also kept him out of the offseason program. The Niners need to get him back on the field soon if he is going to be ready for the opener on Sept. 7 in Seattle.
“Any player, not just Jauan or anyone, but people need to practice,” Shanahan said. “They need to get ready to play an NFL season or you end up getting hurt. So, hopefully he can get his health back so he can get that out there and start practicing. Just running routes, doing things like that.”
First-round rookie defensive end Mykel Williams was expected back this week but is still having issues with his knee so will be out at least another week. Rookie defensive tackle C.J. West is also out at least this week with a knee injury. Rookie nickelback Upton Stout didn’t practice Tuesday because of a calf injury but could return soon.
Several other players were also out Tuesday, including receiver Jordan Watkins; defensive backs Tre Brown, Richie Grant and Fabian Moreau; and running back Jordan James as injuries have once again been a major issue for San Francisco this summer.
“Obviously we have too many guys down,” Shanahan said. “So we’ve got to look into all that stuff and figure out whatever we can do better.”
With Jones unavailable for the preseason finale, the Niners brought back Nate Sudfeld on a one-year deal to take Taylor’s place on the roster.
Sudfeld spend the 2022 season in camp with San Francisco before getting beat out by Brock Purdy. With Purdy expected to sit out or play only a series or two on Saturday night, Shanahan needed another quarterback along with Carter Bradley to play against the Chargers.
The 49ers will likely have several players on injured lists after cut-down day with receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and safety Malik Mustapha (knee) expected to miss at least the first four games on the physically unable to perform list, and rookie quarterback Kurtis Rourke (knee) slated to start the season on the non-football injury list.
Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) still has been unable to practice all of camp and could open the season on the physically unable to perform list.
Promising undrafted rookie running back Corey Kiner went down with a “serious” high ankle sprain last week and is a candidate to start the season on short-term injured reserve along with defensive tackle Kevin Givens (pectoral).
The Niners can put two players on IR next week who don’t count on the 53-man roster and will be eligible to return after missing at least four weeks.
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