Quarterback Brock Purdy threw without pain Monday and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan will wait until midweek to evaluate the progress of edge rusher Nick Bosa and left tackle Trent Williams as the team determines whether they’ll play next weekend in Buffalo.
It remains to be seen who will and won’t be available when the 49ers embark on a cross-country trip to face the AFC East-leading Bills, currently 9-2 and the No. 2 seed in the conference.
The 49ers are expected to get a practice lift with the activation of linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who will begin his 21-day window off injured reserve after offseason Achilles surgery after being injured in the Super Bowl.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who worked with the scout team last week as he works through his grief following the loss of his 23-month-old daughter, may also begin getting work again with the first team.
Are things actually looking up for the 49ers?
One thing for sure is that the 49ers are looking up at everybody else in the NFC West but are still only a game out of first place with Seattle and Arizona at 6-5 and the 49ers and Rams at 5-6. It’s clear to Shanahan that any pathway to the playoffs would be as a division title rather than as a wild card, where Washington holds the final spot at 7-5.
“You look at the whole NFC picture and if you don’t win the division, 10-7 is not guaranteed to get in as a wild card by any means this year,” Shanahan told reporters during his weekly conference call. “That is why the Seattle game was so tough, and that’s why last night was even worse.
“We know exactly what the playoff situation is, but really all that matters is this week when you do need to go on a run and put a lot of wins to even think of that, then you’d better be thinking of only one thing – and that’s Buffalo.”
Shanahan believes the 49ers will show up to practice with a proper sense of urgency.
“We’ll come back Wednesday fully understanding the situation we’re in and coming back ready to fight because that’s all we can do right now is just fight our butts off,” Shanahan said. “And I’ll be very surprised that not every guy in this building when I see them Wednesday isn’t ready for that exact mindset that we’re going to need to pull off what we feel we can.”
Should Purdy be unable to go, Shanahan said Brandon Allen would get a second start at quarterback after he played Sunday in Green Bay. Shanahan’s review on Allen was mostly positive, although two fumbles (he lost one) were a problem.
Here’s how the wounded are faring with the 49ers meeting Monday to assess their health and the myriad mistakes, missed tackles and penalties that proved costly in Green Bay:
Purdy: He didn’t exactly come out smoking Monday, but it appeared to be a step in the right direction with his sore shoulder. Purdy had two MRIs last week that revealed no structural damage, including one after practice Thursday when he aborted his plan to throw because of pain in his shoulder.
“He threw lighter today to see if the rest did help, and the rest did help him,” Shanahan said. “We’ll let him rest all the way until Wednesday and we’ll take the exact same course. Hopefully it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest.”
Bosa/Williams: Bosa stayed behind to rehab his hips and obliques, while Williams, in hopes of playing went to Green Bay with an ankle bone bruise but was scratched.
“They’re in the same boat as Brock,” Shanahan said. “We’ve had MRIs, we understand it, just waiting to see how they respond. They didn’t respond great last week. Hopefully it turns a better corner than it did last week.”
Greenlaw: If all goes according to plan, Greenlaw will practice for the first time this season Wednesday. After 21 days, Greenlaw must either be put on the 53-man roster or finish the season on I.R. General manager John Lynch said last week on KNBR-680 radio spot that he would expect Greenlaw to use most of the 21 days before being put on the active roster.
Ward: The veteran corner spent last week working with the scout team and could get back on the field in Buffalo.
“He’ll get out there Wednesday and see how it goes,” Shanahan said. “that’s not something I’m pushing him on. Trying to go his speed. and I know how he talked last week and hopefully he’ll take another step forward this week.”
Defensive lineman Kevin Givens: Hasn’t played or practiced since Week 7 with a groin injury but will put that injury to the test Wednesday in practice.
Guard Aaron Banks, wide receiver Jacob Cowing, defensive lineman Jordan Elliott: All are in the concussion protocol.
Guard Dominic Puni (shoulder) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee): Both are awaiting the result of MRIs which will determine practice availability this week.
Guard/center Jon Feliciano: The 21-day practice window expired Monday on Feliciano, who was rehabbing a knee injury. He was not activated and will spend the rest of the season on injured reserve.
FRED AND DEEBO
With the 49ers missing so many key players, the need for star veterans such as linebacker Fred Warner and wide receiver Deebo Samuel to step up was acute. Neither had anything approaching his best game.
Warner had nearly as many missed tackles (four) as actual tackles (six), none of them for losses.
“I think Fred’s still playing at a high level,” Shanahan said. “I know he’s got high standards so when he has something like that it’s going to stick out, but Fred’s still playing like one of the best players in the league.”
As for Samuel, he had two dropped passes. Including one on what might have been Allen’s toughest throw into a tight window that wound up being intercepted. Samuel had an 82-yard kickoff return erased on a hold by Eric Saubert that the 49ers disputed (Saubert’s kept both hands in, but replays showed two fist fulls of jersey).
Samuel has five receptions for 43 yards in the 49ers’ last two losses and one carry for minus-1 yard. He has 34 receptions for 511 yards and one touchdown this seaosn.
Shanahan noted the two drops as crucial but said he believes Samuel has the requisite burst to remain a threat and that the 49ers simply didn’t have the ball enough against Green Bay.
“We really weren’t able to stay on the field consistently enough to get any player going,” Shanahan said.
SNAP JUDGMENTS
72: Safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha and middle linebacker Fred Warner played every defensive snap.
49: When Allen at quarterback and Jaylon Moore at left tackle play every snap (along with Colton McKivitz, Puni and Jake Brendel) then you know there’s a problem with injuries. And Allen and Moore were the least of their problems.
44: Leonard Floyd played 61 percent — about his usual number — even without Bosa in the lineup. With 3 1/2 sacks in his last two games, he’s a half-sack behind Bosa for the team lead.
33: Rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. played 67 percent of the snaps — the same as Samuel — and did not have a pass thrown his way.
21: Robert Beal Jr. played a season-high number of snaps in Bosa’s absence at defensive end and did not appear on the stat sheet for having a tackle or an assist.
9: Running back Jordan Mason has played 14 snaps in three games since McCaffrey’s return and has six carries for 26 yards.
4: Tashaun Gipson was promoted to the 53-man roster but still hasn’t played on defense in three games at safety. He had four special teams snaps against Green Bay.
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