This is not going well. The San Francisco 49ers are running out of available defensive backs. The team announced that it added rookie cornerback Deommodore Lenoir to the reserve/COVID-19 list, increasing the total number of 49ers players on the list to six. Five of them are defensive backs.
DB Deommodore Lenoir has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 List.
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 5, 2022
Below are the 49ers players currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
- CB Dontae Johnson
- CB Deommodore Lenoir
- RB Raheem Mostert (IR)
- CB Ambry Thomas
- S Jimmie Ward
- CB K'Waun Williams
Lenoir being added on Wednesday means he is unlikely to have enough time to be cleared to play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. However, the others have better chances to be available.
"Yeah, I'm optimistic," Shanahan said of the five players who first landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. "Just watching how it worked for a number of teams around the NFL last week. Guys who got it on Monday and were able to come back. I think some guys got it on Tuesday; they were able to come back. So I am optimistic, but I think your guess is as good as mine."
Obviously, this isn't what the 49ers want ahead of a crucial game against the division rival. San Francisco can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Rams.
Shanahan added, "I'm just hoping that goes well with [the players on the reserve/COVID-19 list], and hopefully they're symptom-free."
The good news is that San Francisco opened the practice windows for two defensive backs—Emmanuel Moseley and Tavon Wilson—on Wednesday. They could be activated before Sunday's game. This week, the team also signed cornerback Darqueze Dennard to the practice squad and made him one of its three protected players heading into Week 18.
