Christian McCaffrey worked on the side of the field with the trainers
The 49ers practiced Friday but were once again without a few key cogs. According to the reporters on hand, Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel were not on hand. Running back Christian McCaffrey was working with the training staff on the side, working on leg exercises.
The good news is that linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) and left guard Aaron Banks (ankle) practiced Thursday.
Per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, McCaffrey asked head coach Kyle Shanahan to not take anything out of the game plan and to prepare as if McCaffrey was playing, even if CMC didn’t practice during the week. That sounds like a player willing to do any and everything to play Monday night. McCaffrey playing will likely go down to the wire.
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco said, before prefacing that he has no inside information, that the possibility of each player playing Monday night would go:
1) McCaffrey
2) Samuel
3) Williams
No team in the NFL blitzes at a higher rate than the Vikings. Williams is the one person along the 49ers offensive line who you can trust against anybody 1-on-1 in any situation. Not having No. 71 on the field is suboptimal for the Niners’ chances of an offensive outburst.
Jaylon Moore played for Williams when he missed time in Week 6. The good news for the 49ers is that the reason the Vikings blitz at such an obnoxious rate is because they don’t have a pass rusher who has been successful 1-on-1. Yes, that includes the likes of Danielle Hunter. Minnesota doesn’t have a pass rusher in the top 50, among any defensive linemen, in winning percentage, for PFF.
You could also make a strong argument that Brock Purdy’s best game of the season came against the New York Giants, who blitzed him over 80 percent of the time. But Purdy and the offense had Williams. That may not be the case Monday night.
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