During my first year covering the 49ers, I remember Kyle Shanahan saying if a player didn’t practice on Thursday, he’s unlikely to play the following Sunday. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule — see, Kittle, George.
This week, we haven’t seen Emmanuel Moseley practice. Here’s Thursday’s injury report:
Did Not Participate: WR Jalen Hurd (knee), CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee)
Limited Participation: DT Kevin Givens (hip), DT Javon Kinlaw (knee), QB Trey Lance (right finger)
Watt and the Steelers agreed to a four-year extension worth more than $112 million, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday. The deal reportedly comes with $80 million guaranteed and will make him the highest-paid defensive player in football at $28.003 million annually.
There’s no doubt Bosa is walking around with dollar signs in his eyes right now.
There is a very good chance that Bosa will be the first non-quarterback to command a deal worth $30 million a season, and with the NFL cap expected to explode in 2023, the 49ers likely will look to lock Bosa up long term next summer, paying the star defensive end handsomely for what they expect will be a very productive prime.
Chance to win Super Bowl LVI: 5.6%
Chance to make the playoffs: 68.5%
Three of the past four teams on this list have been from the NFC West, which should tell you just how talented and how tough that division should be in 2021. FPI likes the 49ers slightly more than the competition, although I’m not sure how it feels about the debate between Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. Whatever competition there was seems to have been settled by default now that Lance has suffered a finger injury; the 49ers will guarantee Garoppolo’s $25 million compensation for 2021 by keeping him on the active roster for Week 1.
49ers-Lions: Kyle Shanahan preparing for the expected and unexpected from Jared Goff
“I know with Anthony Lynn being there and how important the running game is to him, and his history, I think it will be some similar stuff to what we’re used to,” Shanahan said.
“But again, you think about all that stuff, and you’ve got six days to talk about that all in between and everything, but you really never know until that first quarter comes and you kind of see what they’re doing,” Shanahan explained.
49ers Mailbag: When will Lance start and what’s the outlook for Trey Sermon?
49ers fan asks via Twitter: Can Hufanga make a push at the starting spot?
If Jaquiski Tartt is healthy and playing at his best, probably not. Tartt’s problem, though, is that he has never played a full season. In the last four seasons, he hasn’t played more than the 12 games he played in 2019, and in the other three years, never played more than nine.
Based on the odds, Tartt is likely to be injured at some point, and if Hufanga gets to start at that point, I could see him holding onto the job. He’s definitely got some concerns in coverage, but he’s more intelligent and deliberate there than Harris ever was, and has a tangible flow in the way he uses his eye and body positioning to move downhill towards the ball. If he doesn’t win the job outright this year, I would expect he does next year.
“He’s a game wrecker,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “He’s one of those guys that has that ability.”
Bosa has been practicing for a few weeks and is now ready to play against the Lions.
“It’s like riding a bike,” he said. “The first day I was out there I was hitting moves that felt like I had been practicing for a while. Once you’ve taken as many reps as I have in college and pros, it kind of comes back to you quick. Obviously, you need to rep it to make sure it’s ready for the season. But it came back pretty quick.”
