SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Three of the San Francisco 49ers’ most high-profile players, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and George Kittle, are questionable for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Bosa, who didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday, is trending in the right direction. He was limited in Friday’s session with the hip pointer injury he said made Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay the most grueling of his career. On Wednesday he said it would be “close” as to whether he played against the Seahawks on Sunday, though general manager John Lynch seemed more optimistic.
“I think he’s getting better,” Lynch said on his weekly radio hit on KNBR. “Last week he worked through it in practice and (learned) it’s probably better to take a little rest. You know, Nick plays so much, works so hard, I think sometimes being a little bit off his legs is actually a good thing for him and for us. I still think he’s got to make some progress before Sunday, but if we can get him a little bit fresh, that’s gonna be a good thing for us.”
Williams, meanwhile, is dealing with an ankle injury, a career-long issue for the left tackle. Last year he missed two games after a player rolled onto the side of his ankle in Cleveland. Williams, 36, has not played a full NFL regular season since 2013. If he can’t play Sunday, Jaylon Moore would start at left tackle.
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“He’s been hurting all week,” Kyle Shanahan said. “Thought he’d be able to go today. Hopefully he’ll be better tomorrow and good to go (for Sunday). But (it will go) all the way up to kickoff.”
Kittle (hamstring) also is questionable, although he practiced on a limited basis on Thursday and Friday and seems like he’ll be ready for the Seahawks game. Kittle leads the 49ers in both receiving yards and touchdowns.
The 49ers definitely will be without defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin), punter Mitch Wishnowsky (back) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (personal), all of whom got an “out” designation Friday. Ward has not rejoined the team following the loss of his 1-year-old daughter last month.
Wishnowsky, meanwhile, likely will go on injured reserve, which would mean that newly added veteran Pat O’Donnell will be elevated from the practice squad and handle punting duties for the foreseeable future. His last full-time gig as a punter was with the Green Bay Packers in 2022. The 49ers’ Week 12 game is in Green Bay, and he said he thought he could help kicker Jake Moody in finding the right markers and handling the wind in that stadium.
Putting Wishnowsky on injured reserve also would open a roster spot for Yetur Gross-Matos, who’s expected to come off of injured reserve on Saturday. Because he plays both defensive end and defensive tackle, Gross-Matos could help make up for Bosa not being 100 percent and for Givens’ absence.
“It helps a ton,” Shanahan said of having Gross-Matos back. “We had big expectations for Yetur. He had a hell of a camp.”
Guard Aaron Banks (thigh) and cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. (pelvis) were late additions to the 49ers’ injury report. Banks is questionable for Sunday, Luter is doubtful.
Receivers Jauan Jennings (ankle) and Chris Conley (hamstring), running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) and cornerback Renardo Green (toe) were full participants Friday and are not on the injury report.
Finally, Lynch continues to say that linebacker Dre Greenlaw, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, is “close” to returning, although it still may be several weeks until he makes his 2024 debut.
“There’s just markers we want to hit, and we want to make sure that we get him there,” Lynch said. “The other thing with Dre — once he gets in practice and you open that window up, he probably takes a little bit of that window. He’s coming off an Achilles. It’s not a simple thing. You just really have to go through all the steps. And believe me, it’s hard for Dre. It’s hard for us. We’d love to just throw him out there this week. We’d be a better team for it. But we want him back not only for the short term. We want him back for the duration. So we’re trying to be very purposeful on how we do that.”
(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
