During his Monday afternoon press conference, head coach Mike Nolan confirmed that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has a grade 3 (Type III) shoulder separation. He stated that Smith will not have surgery. When asked how long he will be out, Nolan stated that he would know more on Thursday.
Nolan confirmed that Alex would be out against the Ravens and the "best case" scenario (although unlikely) would have him returning against the Giants in New York after the bye week. Smith has hopes to return against the Giants.
Smith suffered the injury to his right shoulder during the third offensive snap from scrimmage when center Eric Heitman failed to block defensive tackle Rocky Bernard allowing him to sack the 49ers' quarterback.
Nolan also stated that the team would look at the offensive line and determine if some changes are needed. While there are no plans to change the starting lineup right now, the team has taken a look at backups Adam Snyder, David Baas, Tony Wragge and Kwame Harris.
Tight end Vernon Davis will also be out next week against the Ravens after suffering an injury last week against the Steelers. One of his replacements, Billy Bajema will be questionable next week, but Nolan will know more tomorrow. Rookies Terell Brown (CB) and Jason Hill (WR) will also miss the next week's game as well.
What do the pundits think of the 49ers' decision to use the third overall pick on North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance?
Not everyone was a huge fan of the move, but for the most part, the feeling is the 49ers did the right thing.
The 49ers made Lance their selection Thursday night, choosing him over Alabama quarterback Mac Jones and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Online writers mostly applauded the move after weeks of speculation that the pick would be Jones, but they cautioned that the 49ers would have their work cut out for them in trying to develop the raw but talented Lance.
Here's a roundup of grades that were handed out to the 49ers Thursday night by websites that were posting instant draft analysis. Click on a writer's name or site
