One bright spot for the San Francisco 49ers was their injury report coming out of Week 7.
Running back Christian McCaffrey left with what was initially diagnosed as a thigh injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said it’s a mild hamstring strain for McCaffrey.
The good news is Shanahan said the 49ers are “pretty optimistic” that McCaffrey will be fine coming out of the bye week.
He wouldn’t guarantee their return, but Shanahan said several players currently out with injuries could return after the bye. It’s a lengthy list:
WR Mike Evans
WR Deebo Samuel
WR Demarcus Robinson
DE Nick Bosa
DT CJ West
S Marques Sigle
LB Garret Wallow
LB Luke Gifford
CB Upton Stout
The wide receiver rotation could look a lot different when the 49ers offense takes the field against the Raiders.
Despite missing a game, Evans still has far and away the most snaps of any receiver on the roster at 192. Deebo has missed two games, and he’s second in snaps with 164. Through the first two games of the season, Robinson was tied with Samuel for the second-most snaps. We’ll see how that changes with Christian Kirk in the mix and after Jordan Watkins has played, but it’s likely the end of the road for Brandin Cooks.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with West. He’s been out since Week 2. In Week 1, Gracen Halton was already outsnapping West. James Thompson only played one fewer snap than him. West played more than Thompson in Week 2, but still fell short of Halton and Osa Odighizuwa.
Based on how things were before the season, West would take Sebastian Valdez’s spot. But Valdez isn’t this no-name off the practice squad anymore. He’s played well in his role. You could argue he’s given the defense more than West would have if he were healthy.
Sigle rotated with Malik Mustapha and occasionally Ji’Ayir Brown before he went down with an injury. When he played, we didn’t see the same rookie mistakes from Sigle that he made a year ago. For what the 49ers ask of their safeties and the speed element he brings to the table, Mustapha and Sigle might be their best duo
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