San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters on Monday afternoon, the day after the team beat the Tennessee Titans 37-24 at Levi's Stadium. He provided several key injury updates.
- Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall aggravated his PCL injury and is also dealing with an ankle injury. His practice availability this week remains unclear.
- Left guard Spencer Burford received encouraging test results after suffering an ankle injury against the Titans. Shanahan confirmed it was not a high-ankle sprain, and Burford is expected to return to practice this week.
- Linebacker Nick Martin remains in the NFL concussion protocol.
What's the 49ers' level of concern with Pearsall's injury?
"There is a concern, I think, just seeing kind of how those have gone this year," Shanahan admitted. "The ankle, it was a tough ankle injury, but it checked out. That it wasn't a high and he was able to get through the game is somewhat encouraging. That shouldn't rule him out for this week. But that combined with the knee, I mean, he aggravated it, which is something."
Shanahan noted that Pearsall landed on his knee, causing some pain and lasting discomfort.
"So, hopefully, it's not at all like it was when he first did it, but it does take time for that pain to go away, and hopefully, that'll be sooner than later over these next eight days," Shanahan added.
Other injury updates
Shanahan also said the 49ers expect several players to return to practice this week, including defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (ankle), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (knee), and linebackers Tatum Bethune (ankle) and Eric Kendricks (calf). Okuayinonu, Elliott, and Bethune were inactive against the Titans, while Kendricks has been sidelined with calf tightness.
Shanahan was asked if Kendricks has a chance to be elevated from the practice squad and contribute in the game against the Indianapolis Colts.
"Yeah, if he was totally healthy," Shanahan said. "But that's with all of them. Same with Tatum, coming back from his high-ankle, we're not sure how they're going to look. So we'll get him in there, see how it goes. We should get two full-speed practices in, which should give us a good idea.
"But we've been short these last couple of weeks, especially losing these guys, with Nick Martin. That's why we had to take guys off other teams to get them up last week. So, they've got to get back into practice first, show us where they're at and stuff, and how it's going. And that'll give us a chance to make some decisions ... come Saturday."
Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos is also expected to continue progressing as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.
Looking ahead, Shanahan said the 49ers are hopeful wide receiver Jacob Cowing (hamstring) can have his practice window opened next week, ahead of the game against the Chicago Bears.
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