Justin Smith and Bernard Berrian to visit Vikings Friday

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR this afternoon and provided two key injury updates. One was on his starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who is returning from a calf injury suffered on October 3. The injury forced him to miss Week 5, but the coach sounds more and more confident that Garoppolo will be ready for Sunday's home game against the Indianapolis Colts. "He's getting better each day," Shanahan said on the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "I mean, there shouldn't be any problem with him by Sunday at all. Any time you're coming off the calf injury like that, it takes a little time to get that soreness out, so you'll see it on some throws here and there. But each day it gets much better, and I think he'll be feeling 100 percent by

If defense still wins championships, fans of the San Francisco 49ers must have been teeming with anxiety over the thought of having to rely on the defense, as they have been able to, in recent years. It has stressed me out. But you can rest easy, San Francisco fans, the tide may be turning. Through the first four games of the season, the 49ers defense looked a little Jekyll and Hyde. There were moments in each of those games where the defense looked like the dominant unit we have grown accustomed to seeing. But there were also moments in which they looked lost (see Rodgers, Aaron). The game against Green Bay was the low point, letting the Packers kick a game-winning field goal, even though they had no timeouts and only 37 seconds left. If the first four

A lot is riding on the selection of Trey Lance. The future of the San Francisco 49ers — and likely head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch — depends on the rookie quarterback developing into an impact player. The NFL Draft has seemingly been a crapshoot for the Niners. For every Nick Bosa, there is a Solomon Thomas or Reuben Foster. There have been George Kittles and Fred Warners. However, selections like Dante Pettis severely impact evaluations of recent draft classes. The jury is still out on last year's first-rounders, Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk. The latter's lack of involvement this season has been baffling. The 49ers have hit

The San Francisco 49ers will hold four full practices this week as the team prepares for its Week 7 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Head coach Kyle Shanahan, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, and various players are scheduled to speak with the media. The 49ers will make the press conferences available at 49ers.com, on the team's official mobile app, and YouTube page. Below is the schedule, which is subject to change, for the upcoming