The 49ers don’t have to rule out a player until Saturday
The 49ers had a lengthy list of key contributors sit out of Thursday’s practice due to various injuries. And according to the beat reporters on hand at Friday’s practice, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, and Danny Gray were all absent for the second day in a row.
Since the game is on Monday, the 49ers don’t have to submit their final injury report until Saturday. During his Thursday press conference, Kyle Shanahan didn’t say anything about Danny Gray’s hip injury. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows said Gray wore a sleeve on his right leg during Thursday’s practice, and his status bears monitoring ahead of Monday’s game.
Gray was inactive in Week 1, played seven snaps against the Seahawks in Week 2, and only six last week against the Broncos at wide receiver. Gray doesn’t play on any special teams unit.
Javon Kinlaw missed the second day in a row with a knee injury. It’s unclear whether he’s sitting out due to in-season maintenance coming off season-ending surgery of whether Kinlaw had a setback.
Per Cam Inman, Arik Armstead was working on the side. That’s a step in the right direction for Armstead’s availability, who hasn’t practiced in over a week due to a foot injury. If both play, the 49ers’ odds to slow down the Rams increase significantly. San Francisco’s biggest advantage is its defensive line against an inexperienced Los Angeles front.
Having both of your defensive tackles out against the Rams is sub-optimal. If neither play, that’ll allow McVay to send more attention to Nick Bosa.
Tight end Tyler Kroft sat out with a knee injury. Ross Dwelley was in pads, but with a trainer as he recovers from a rib injury.
When are these injuries happening? Gray and Kinlaw finished the game Sunday night yet were on the injury report for Thursday. Remember, since the game is on Monday, the 49ers didn’t practice Wednesday. The only other thing I could think of is if either player didn’t find out about an injury until after Shanahan spoke on Monday.