SANTA CLARA – The 49ers received excellent news Monday about linebacker Fred Warner and clarified the condition of running back Christian McCaffrey.
Warner was listed as “day-to-day” with an ankle injury after missing the second half of Sunday's 30-13 win over the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium. It was Warner's 45-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the 49ers a 13-0 lead after settling for brief field goals on their first two drives.
“If it's a severe ankle sprain, you know it's going to take some time,” Shanahan said in his weekly conference call with local writers. “I know he's hurting today, but saying he hurts every day gives him a chance to heal this week.”
If so, Warner has a probability to be on the sphere when the 49ers (2-2) face the Arizona Cardinals (1-3) at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.
McCaffrey, meanwhile, was on the stadium after getting back from Germany to receive treatment for Achilles tendonitis. As general manager John Lynch said on KNBR last week, McCaffrey is affected by “bilateral Achilles tendonitis” – meaning each Achilles tendons are affected.
“During the time (he was out), he made it in both cases,” Shanahan said. “I think it started with one person, one overcompensated, it moved on to the other. But one of them in particular bothered him, but in both cases he was fed up with it.”
Lynch said the following step is to physically rebuild McCaffery in a “smart and thoughtful way.”
McCaffrey will probably be eligible to return from injured reserve on Thursday, October tenth in Seattle, but it surely is probably going he will probably be out significantly longer.
Other players injured and listed as day-to-day alongside Warner included wide receiver Jacob Cowing (shoulder), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (knee), tight end George Kittle (ribs), wide receiver Chris Conley (oblique) and the Fullback Kyle Juszczyk (shoulder).
After spending the primary 4 games of the season on the non-football injured list, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. is eligible to start a 21-day window of workouts to find out when he will probably be added to the 53-man roster could be. Shanahan said he wasn't sure if Pearsall's window would begin this week.
However, defensive tackle Kalia Davis could come off injured reserve and start his practice window as early as Wednesday.
Warner reached the postgame podium on Sunday and not using a limp, but couldn't announce he could be able to compete this week.
“It was all based on feeling,” Warner said. “It would take a lot for me to do it, right? If I could have been out there, I would have been. We'll have more information as we continue with the scans and all that. I’m fine at the moment.”
In just 28 snaps, Warner had seven tackles, only one behind team leader Ji'Ayir Brown, who played all 64 snaps and had eight stops. When Warner was named to the All-Pro first team a yr ago, his level of play was even higher.
“It’s hard to say, he’s been so good every year,” Shanahan said. “But the way he started this year, it’s been a great year for him so far.”
Defensive lineman Nick Bosa agreed and said the difference this yr is that Warner is capitalizing on the plays that come his way.
“He always played at the highest level,” Bosa said. “Sometimes things come your way in the game and he took advantage of those opportunities. I don’t see it slowing down.”
MUSTAPHA AND GREEN
Safety Malik Mustapha began rather than Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) and played every snap on defense. Fellow rookie Renardo Green received his first prolonged project and performed well within the second half. Shanahan liked what he saw from each of them.
Mustapha's day began with a touch of a third-down tackle and ended with a dropped interception, but all the things in between was solid. Shanahan liked the way in which Mustapha blocked Warner's 45-yard interception return.
“I was really happy with the way he played and it was nice to have Renardo there,” Shanahan said. “It was nothing against Ike (Isaac Yiadom), Ike had a hell of a first half. But we used him, gave him a chance in the third quarter, he did well and we just went with him.”
THE PEARSALL PLAN
Given that Pearsall missed a lot time in training camp before suffering a gunshot wound to the chest during an Aug. 31 armed robbery in San Francisco, Shanahan said he wasn't sure how long it could be until he is chosen as a rookie in the primary round and is able to play.
“I really don’t make any judgments until I see how the guys do the week of practice,” Shanahan said. “You kind of make that decision over time.”
QUICK JUDGMENTS
The 49ers played with seven rookies who played 220 snaps on offense, defense and special teams: Mustapha (69:64 on offense, 5 on special teams), guard Dominic Puni (68:62 on offense, 6 on special teams) and Green (33). – 23 on defense, 10 on special teams), defensive tackle Evan Anderson (22 – 19 on defense, 3 on special teams), linebacker Tatum Bethune (18 – 4 on defense, 14 on special teams), running back Isaac Guerendo (12 – 5 in running back, seven in special teams) and wide receiver Jacob Cowing (8 – 4 in offense, 4 in special teams).
64: In addition to Mustapha, linebacker D'Vondre Campbell, cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward, and safety Ji'Ayir Brown were the defenders who played every snap.
63: Trent Williams was questionable with a toe injury but played every offensive snap. On snap No. 62, he was 15 yards ahead of Mason on a 25-yard run. He's effective.
59: At some point it was announced within the press box that Kittle had a rib injury. He only missed 4 snaps after which acted like he didn't find out about it. He called his leaping 12-yard touchdown reception from Purdy one among his top five.
50: Brandon Aiyuk had probably the most snaps of any wide receiver on the roster. He caught two passes for 48 yards and was targeted five times by Purdy.
35: After playing 18, 19 and 17 snaps in the primary three games, Kevin Givens played almost twice as often and had 2 1/2 sacks as a consequence of injuries to Javon Hargrave and an in-game injury to Jordan Elliott (14 snaps). . Givens got here into the sport with 6 1/2 profession sacks in 60 games and had never had a couple of in a game before.
23: Green saw his longest stint at cornerback after not getting any snaps within the opening game and 4 and five in Weeks 2 and three.
16: Yiadom played just 25 percent of the defensive snaps after posting rates of 76, 63 and 83 percent in the primary three games.
4: Cowing entered the sport as a large receiver but injured his shoulder. After the injury, he also handed over the punt return duties to Juszczyk.
1: Spencer Burford was the one reserve offensive lineman to get a snap, replacing Dominic Puni for a single play when Puni was scrambled.
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