San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman has been medically cleared to practice as the team kicks off training camp, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. The cornerback will join his teammates on Thursday for the 49ers' first practice.
Guard Jonathan Cooper (knee), wide receiver Trent Taylor (back), and linebacker Dekoda Watson (calf) will start training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. General manager John Lynch said the 49ers aren't too concerned with those players' injuries and want to ease them back into practice.
"We feel like each of them -- they've been cleared," said Lynch. "They're out of their rehab but we feel like there needs to be some conditioning. Jonathan Cooper, we just feel comfortable that we want to see a little bit more on the side before we throw him in there ... Dekoda, some of that calf injury that he had is still lingering a little bit."
As expected, defensive back Marcell Harris (Achilles) and Kentavius Street (ACL) will start training camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list. Linebacker Malcolm Smith (lower leg) was a surprise addition to the NFI list.
"Malcolm, just in the last week, something popped up," said Lynch. "We're not concerned about it. We've gotten over that because we looked into it. But we feel, again, the prudent thing is to give him a couple of days right at the start to make sure he feels good, we feel good.
"Marcell Harris, same type of deal. Has cleared through the rehab part of his rehabilitation. Now we're going to get him with (head strength and conditioning coach) Ray Wright and just make sure that conditioning (goes forward)."
Sherman participated in individual drills during the team's final minicamp in June. However, he has not yet participated in a full team practice with his new teammates. Sherman is returning from a ruptured Achilles that was suffered during a November matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The All-Pro cornerback was a member of the Seattle Seahawks at the time.
"[Sherman] is good to go," said Shanahan. "He's been cleared. He'll be practicing on Thursday. No PUP. He'll just start playing with them going with two days on, one day off."
The 49ers signed Sherman as a free agent in March the day after the Seahawks released the veteran. While San Francisco has been cautious with his return, training camp was always the target for the cornerback to be fully cleared by the team's medical staff.
This offseason is the healthiest Sherman has felt in years. Even before the November injury, his Achilles was not completely healthy. Following the surgery on his leg, Sherman had another surgery to clean out bone spurs in his left foot – an injury which had hampered him for years.
"I feel light years better than I have over the past few years," Sherman said during the team's June minicamp. "This is the first offseason I've actually gotten to heal up and let all the ailments go away and come out completely healthy."
Sherman has registered 367 combined tackles, 32 interceptions, 99 passes defensed, a sack, and five forced fumbles in seven NFL seasons. He has been selected to four Pro Bowls and is a three-time first-team All-Pro.
