The San Francisco 49ers activated center Weston Richburg from the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. He becomes the third player to be removed from the injury designation and will practice with his teammates on Monday as the 49ers prepare for their final preseason game.
San Francisco activated defensive back Jimmie Ward from the PUP list on July 30 and then running back Jerick McKinnon on August 6.
"I'm hoping we can get Richburg activated this week so we can get him in practice a little bit," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Sunday. "It depends on how it went when we left him behind. I was told over the phone it went well. We'll get to see him tomorrow when we bring him out on the field. If he's good enough to go with some people, then we'll get him off that so at least he can take some snaps with our quarterback and get a guy in front of him instead of just a bag and a trainer."
Richburg underwent knee surgery in January to take care of the ongoing issue that plagued him through the 2018 season. He still managed to start 15 games.
"I think it affected his play late in the year," general manager John Lynch said in January. "He was having trouble anchoring. We decided to go in there and get the thing cleaned up. […] We feel comfortable that the end result is it will allow him to perform to the great ability that he does have."
The 49ers signed Richburg on March 13, 2018, to a five-year deal worth up to $47.5 million.
Tight end Garrett Celek is the last remaining player on the PUP list and might not be ready to play by the start of the regular season. He underwent offseason back surgery and has not yet been cleared from the concussion he sustained during Week 16 of the 2018 season.
"It's a serious surgery he did, dealing with the back," Shanahan said of Celek in June. "Some stuff that Trent (Taylor) went through last year, and some stuff that Celek went through before he got here. I think five years ago he had a surgery like this on his back."