The 49ers are dealing with some lingering injury problems as they begin OTAs. A key component of the voluntary sessions is getting through them healthy and San Francisco is exercising caution in getting some injured players back into action.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday had a handful of injury updates after the 49ers wrapped up their second OTA practice.
Center Jake Brendel is dealing with knee tendonitis that Shanahan said will likely keep him out for all of OTAs.
Defensive end Drake Jackson and cornerback Charvarius Ward are both recovering from offseason surgery and didn’t practice Tuesday. Both players expect to return for training camp, which is good news for San Francisco. No news throughout the offseason program will be good news on this duo.
Two other defensive players are working back from injuries they suffered last season. Safety Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL in Week 11 and isn’t expected back until some point during training camp. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered an Achilles tear in the Super Bowl. He’s unlikely to even be available for training camp, much less OTAs.
While OTAs are an important piece of the offseason, it’s more important to ensure players are healthy when the season starts or as close to that as possible so don’t expect San Francisco to rush any injured players into action any time soon.
