The San Francisco 49ers looked to be stabilizing on the injury front.
Christian McCaffrey is already on IR with Achilles tendinitis. Deebo Samuel has been ruled out for Weeks 3 and 4 with a calf injury. It looked like those would be their only injuries going into Week 3 after a relatively clean practice participation report on Wednesday.
Reporting from Thursday’s practice painted a different picture that indicates a couple more 49ers stars were hurt at some point between the end of Wednesday’s practice and the start of Thursday’s.
ESPN’s Nick Wagoner was first to report cornerback Charvarius Ward and tight end George Kittle would both miss Thursday’s practice. Ward has hamstring and knee problems, while Kittle is nursing a hamstring issue.
Their absences Thursday put their status for Sunday in jeopardy, although nothing will be official until the team releases its injury report Friday.
If Ward can’t go we may see rookie CB Renardo Green get the start at nickel corner with Isaac Yiadom stepping in as a full-time outside CB for Ward.
No Kittle means the 49ers will be down three All-Pros on offense. The club figured to rely heavily on him while McCaffrey and Samuel were out. Now it appears Eric Saubert and Jake Tonges are in line for tight end snaps if Kittle is unable to play in Week 3.
The 49ers will visit the Rams on Sunday. Kickoff from SoFi Stadium is slated for 1:25pm Pacific Time.
