The San Francisco 49ers 34-7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason opener was followed by several positive updates on the injury front. For starters, the team did not pick up any new injuries during Sunday's contest and expects to have more of its players return to practice headed into the team's second week of the preseason slate.
"It was a bright spot of the week (not to lose anyone to injury versus the Raiders)," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It's usually the No. 1 goal in these preseason games."
Ready to Throw Three Days in a Row
The team's projected starting quarterback, second-year pro Brock Purdy, has been cleared to practice three-straight days after being on a pitch count for the entirety of training camp. The former seventh round pick is coming off a season-ending right elbow injury sustained in the NFC Championship Game and subsequent offseason surgery to repair his UCL.
Although cleared to rejoin the team for training camp practices, general manager John Lynch and Shanahan opted to ease the young quarterback into the swing of things, having him first practice two days on, two days off and then moving to just one day off between back-to-back practices. He will now be free of those practice restrictions.
Back to Action and Injury Timelines
The team added several names to its injury list in the days leading up to their first preseason game, however, it appears many of them are on the mend. Shanahan named six players that are likely to return over the course of the week. That list includes the following players:
- RB Elijah Mitchell
- DL Drake Jackson
- DL Kalia Davis
- LB Dre Greenlaw
- DL Robert Beal Jr.
- WR Danny Gray
Tight end George Kittle is expected to be out for another week. Meanwhile, safety George Odum (shoulder) and linebacker Oren Burks (PCL sprain) are hopefuls for Week 1 and are not anticipated to play during the preseason.
"We're hoping (Odum) can get back in a blue jersey this week," Shanahan said. "He can practice, but we just have to keep the contact off of him until Week 1."
Burks sustained his PCL sprain during a collision in the second day of joint practices with the Raiders. The timeline for the return of wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III (broken wrist) still has him missing the start of the regular season.
