Three players — tight end Jordan Reed, running back Tevin Coleman, and cornerback K'Waun Williams — had their practice windows opened this week and hope to be activated off injured reserve soon. Whether or not that will happen before Sunday's game has yet to be determined.
Lynch provided the following updates:
Safety Jimmie Ward (quadricep) was inactive this past Sunday against the New England Patriots but returned to practice on Thursday. Although, he was limited.
"He's fairly fresh off that injury," Lynch said on the Murph & Mac show. "Jimmie's very eager to get out there, but we've got to make sure that he's right. Again, we'll put him out there today (in practice) — provided he shows up here good this morning — put him out there today, and then really have a tough judgment, and one that could go right down to the wire because I think it was last Thursday that he hurt himself in practice. We've got to make sure that thing is properly healed."
As for the three players working to return from injured reserve, Lynch said that Coleman (knee) has looked good in practice this week, which has left the 49ers encouraged about his potential return.
"Wednesday, he kind of just got introduced, did some individual drills," Lynch said. "Yesterday, he got a heavy workload in practice. So, a lot of that is how he's going to respond, how his knee is going to respond today. We're hopeful with Tevin."
Lynch told radio listeners that "there's a chance" fans could see Williams (ACL sprain) return on Sunday. Much of that will be determined by how he responds to the last two days of practices.
"He's been out here, and he's doing well," the GM said. "... He's done a really good job in his rehab. His knee and hip were bothering him, but he's done a really good job of kind of getting all that out of there."
Then you have Reed, a valuable weapon when George Kittle had to miss two games earlier in the season. He has been sidelined since Week 3.
"He's looked good," Lynch said. "... The guy's a special athlete. I've always talked about how those guys tend to heal a little faster. He has kind of beat the original prognosis with that MCL tear (probably meant MCL sprain) that he had and looking really good.
"He's gone out there, and I would say we were doubtful early in the week, but he's looked good. So, we'll just kind of see how that goes. That's one that could go all the way up to pregame on Sunday. He helps us when he's out there. ... He's trending in the right direction. Not necessarily speaking towards this weekend but in general.
"So, we're very encouraged. As for this weekend, I just don't know. I do know that he's surprised us how good he's looked out there this week."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
Related News
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
49ers GM John Lynch shares updates at the start of training camp
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke with reporters on Saturday as the team opened training camp. Here's everything he had to say. Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff. Opening comments: "First of all, welcome to Training Camp... -
49ers RB2 battle shifts as Jordan James injury opens door for Kaelon Black
The San Francisco 49ers entered training camp with two young running backs viewed as the frontrunners to become Christian McCaffrey's primary backup. Jordan James, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, appeared to have an early edge in the competition. However, the 49ers... -
49ers work out three running backs after Jordan James injury
Second-year San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan James suffered a rib fracture during Monday's training camp practice, potentially dealing a significant blow to his chances of securing the backup role behind Christian McCaffrey for the 2026 season. In the wake of James'... -
49ers injury news: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan James, Malik Mustapha dealing with setbacks
The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with several injury concerns early in training camp, including setbacks for wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, running back Jordan James, and safety Malik Mustapha. The 49ers announced that Pearsall is experiencing swelling related to the PCL...