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All eyes are on Pro Bowl tight end
George Kittle and Pro Bowl receiver Emmanuel Sanders this week, as the Niner Faithful await official word on whether or not the two will play during Sunday's rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals. Neither has been ruled out, officially.
Kittle has not practiced with his teammates since suffering knee and ankle injuries on October 31 in the first matchup between the two teams. Sanders has not practiced this week after suffering a rib injury during Monday night's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Neither offensive weapon was on the field as the 49ers kicked off their final practice of the week before Sunday's game.
That wasn't unexpected, though, as both have been deemed game-day decisions by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
"Both of those guys, we're not going to rule out,"
Shanahan said Friday morning on KNBR. "I think they'll be a decision on Sunday, but hopefully, it will work out in our favor."
Kittle is the 49ers' leading receiver with 46 catches for 541 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has
a passer rating of 110.6 when targeting the third-year tight end.
"A normal guy, I would have ruled out for both of these weeks," Shanahan said. "George, I won't. There's too many times that we've thought there's no way he's going to go, and then by the time Saturday comes, he goes and does a workout, and shows us what he can do, and we've ended up playing him, and he's been able to go through the whole game."
Sanders has 13 receptions for 161 yards with two touchdowns since being traded from the Denver Broncos to San Francisco on October 22. Garoppolo has a passer rating of 136.6 when targeting the veteran receiver.
Both Kittle and Sanders were seen working with the 49ers strength and conditioning staff as the team kicked off practice.
Running back Matt Breida also did not practice on Friday, which doesn't come as a shock. He aggravated an ankle injury on Monday night and is not expected to play against the Cardinals unless there is an injury to another running back.
"We know what he went through last year with his ankle injury, and we're trying to give Breida a couple of weeks off just to help him out a little bit,"
Shanahan said on Friday morning. "Breida, like he has for a while, he can tough through it and go, but he's got to play when he's not 100 percent, and that's why he's in and out of the game a lot. So we're trying to take him out for a little bit.
"That's what the plan is Sunday, but I won't rule him out because we have a practice today. Anything can happen with the other backs, and if something happened with the other backs, we'd have to get him up just for an emergency. But, most likely, we're not going to have him on Sunday."
That leaves the 49ers with Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and probably Jeff Wilson as the available running backs for Sunday.
Also sidelined is kicker Robbie Gould, who missed Monday's game due to a quad strain.
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
Analyst Dane Brugler recently revealed his seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, forecasting all 257 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, set to kick off next week.
"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
Most expect the 49ers to address the trenches early in the draft, and Brugler has the team doing that. It's just not on the offensive side of the football. In fact, Brugler doesn't have San Francisco
