It sounds as though San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Richie James may be ahead of schedule in his rehab from a broken wrist. The injury was suffered in June and was expected to force the third-year receiver to miss some time this season.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network is reporting that James could be cleared in advance of Week 1.
The #49ers are hopeful they'll get WR Deebo Samuel back to practice next week, Kyle Shanahan said earlier today. Also sounds as if WR/KR Richie James should be cleared in advance of Week 1 as well, which is ahead of the expected timeframe for him.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 2, 2020
As Garafolo stated, head coach Kyle Shanahan said today that he remains hopeful to have Deebo Samuel (foot) and Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) available for Week 1 — a September 13 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium.
"We're hoping to get both of those guys back next week," Shanahan said.
The coach wasn't, however, asked about James as many expected the receiver to start the season on the non-football-injury (NFI) list.
San Francisco made James a seventh-round draft pick out of Middle Tennessee State in 2018. He has recorded 15 receptions for 295 yards with two touchdowns over the past two seasons while being a significant contributor on special teams.
James was the team's leading kick returner last season, averaging 21.4 yards on his 20 returns. He also led the team in punt returns with 264 yards on 33 returns (8.0-yard average).