San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR this morning and provided an update on the team's running back situation ahead of Sunday's primetime matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Rookie Elijah Mitchell hasn't practiced yet this week after sustaining a shoulder injury against the Philadelphia Eagles, lowering his chances of playing this weekend.
"Elijah Mitchell, the rookie who's been really good for us, our sixth-round pick, he got his shoulder [hurt] trying to get it in the goal line on one of those runs," Lynch said on the Murph & Mac show. "He's a tough kid. I can't tell you how tough he is. You see it in his running style and the same in terms of his want to get back on the field. But we've got to make sure he's alright, so I think that still is very questionable."
The other rookie running back, Trey Sermon, suffered a concussion on a devastating blow to the head during his first NFL carry. However, the 49ers general manager sounded more confident about Sermon's potential availability this weekend.
"The good news is that Trey Sermon, who took a vicious hit there — that was some old-school hitting, got the forearm to the head and then the spear to the head — he's doing well," Lynch continued.
Lynch is a fan of the concussion protocol, which established strict guidelines in the return of players who suffer head injuries, taking the decisions out of the team's hands.
"Trey looks like he's doing well in that whole process," Lynch said. "We'll see. We've got to get through the rest of the week, but Trey Sermon looks like he's going to have his opportunities. We'll see on Elijah."
Added Lynch: "Fortunately, Trey came back and really felt good, essentially, right after the hit. He went in the protocol, and he's been out here in practice in kind of a limited fashion yesterday and came out well, so we'll see. That's got to stay true throughout the week until Sunday, and the protocol will take care of it. But we're encouraged by the way it's going."
