When the playoffs come knocking, key players tend to make their way off the injury report quite a bit faster than in the regular season.
That remained true on Thursday, with the 49ers and Seahawks providing injury updates ahead of their playoff matchup, and the postseason opener for the NFL.
For Seattle, the following players are questionable:
- DT Shelby Harris (knee)
- RG Phil Haynes (ankle)
- RB DeeJay Dallas (ankle/quad)
- CB Xavier Crawford (hamstring)
Strong safety Ryan Neal (knee), who missed the final three games of the season, is off the injury report and will play Saturday. Pete Carroll also offered optimism that both Shelby Harris and DeeJay Dallas would play.
The most substantial news came more than a week ago for Seattle, as star middle linebacker Jordyn Brooks — sixth in the NFL with 161 combined tackles — was placed on injured reserve with an ACL injury.
For the 49ers, only cornerback Ambry Thomas, who re-aggravated an ankle injury, and Jimmy Garoppolo, recovering from foot surgery, are out.
Both left guard Aaron Banks (knee, ankle) and Dre Greenlaw (back) “looked good” yesterday. Banks suffered an MCL injury and Greenlaw sustained a back strain during the Week 17 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, but Kyle Shanahan said they should have no limitations this Saturday.
Greenlaw’s return marks the return of arguably the best linebacker duo in the league, while Banks, who’s been impressive in his first full year as a starter, figures to slot back in at left guard.
Everyone else who was limited throughout the week — Arik Armstead (foot, ankle), Javon Kinlaw (knee), Christian McCaffrey (knee) — were managing injuries they’ve been managing for a while, and are not expected to have any limitations, either.