As the 49ers prepare to play two games in five days, questions of health loom larger than ever. Thus far, the team has been able to avoid COVID-19 cases, while teams like their Southern California rivals, the Rams, deal with 25 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
But San Francisco still has injuries to deal with, including a handful of key players who have yet to practice this week.
That list includes Elijah Mitchell (concussion, knee), Azeez Al-Shaair (elbow), D.J. Jones (knee), Dre Greenlaw (groin), Maurice Hurst (calf) and Dontae Johnson (personal).
Both Greenlaw and Hurst are already presumed out at this point, but the rest of those names are up in the air.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined “Murph and Mac” to discuss all things NFL and provided a few injury updates.
As far as Al-Shaair, it’s leaning towards him being questionable and a potential game-time decision.
“I haven’t seen him today, Shanahan said on Murph & Mac. “We’re still waiting for that elbow to recover. Hopefully the swelling and stuff will go down that it gives him a chance to play. You know, Azeez, if he can protect himself, he’s got a chance to play. We know he will. Azeez is as tough as it gets. He’s been through some of these elbows. He did that in college. He did the other one earlier this year. So we just got to see how it reacts and we’ll give him all the way up to kickoff. Hasn’t gotten there yet, but still got a couple more days.”
Elijah Mitchell’s status seems less promising, as he still has yet to clear the concussion protocol and also has a knee injury to worry about. Shanahan said he’s “close” to getting out of the protocol, but has the knee to deal with, too. He’s technically in the same boat as Al-Shaair. Shanahan seemed to indicate his hope is more for a return before Thursday’s game.
“He’s getting close to getting out of the protocol, but he’s got the knee also,” Shanahan said. “So we’ll see how he’s feeling today. Elijah is also a guy who’s earned it to where I’m not going to rule him out just because he didn’t practice, so we’ll give him a chance. But that game is coming close here on Thursday, too. So hopefully he’ll be ready for this one. If not, I’m really hoping he’ll be ready for Thursday.”
Shanahan mentioned that George Kittle is finally healthy, and despite soreness, he’s not expected to miss any time. His more consequential and final update was on Dontae Johnson, who has been away from the team for the last week since the death of his mother.
Johnson was expected to fly back to Santa Clara on Thursday night. Shanahan said if Johnson’s plan remained intact, he would practice on Friday and play on Sunday.
“I think he’s gonna be here today,” Shanahan said. “And if he’s gonna be able to practice, we plan on him playing.”
Listen to Shanahan’s full interview on the “Murph and Mac” show (6 a.m – 10 a.m. below: