The San Francisco 49ers didn’t list Yetur Gross-Matos on Thursday’s injury report, which was a good sign that the defensive lineman, who has been out since Week 15, would return in Week 15. Gross-Matos practiced on Friday and is expected to be activated from the Injured Reserve on Saturday.

So we thought. Kyle Shanahan ruled Gross-Matos out. The 49ers are likely playing it safe with Gross-Matos and want to make sure he can get through a full week of practice before putting him out there. Here are the other players Kyle Shanahan ruled out for Sunday:

LB Tatum Bethune (ankle)...

With four games remaining for the San Francisco 49ers, the bye week was a bit late in the season, but it could be just in time for the stretch run. Given all the adversity and injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, the 49ers’ defense has allowed just 17 points combined over the last two games against Carolina and Cleveland. The formula has been bend, but don’t break, and make enough plays to end drives with either third-down stops or turnovers.

It’s hard to nitpick a defense that has allowed under ten points in back-to-back contests, but the 49ers have...

Through the first four weeks of the season, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was 11th in the NFL in receiving yards and first downs, despite having six fewer targets than every receiver listed above him. In most instances, the player had at least ten more targets than Pearsall.

It looked as though Pearsall was turning into a budding star and would go back and forth all season with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Malik Nabers as the best up-and-coming wideouts in the game. Instead, Nabers was lost for the season. Pearsall would miss the next six games with a PCL...

The San Francisco 49ers are sitting at 9-4 with four weeks left in what has been quite the season this year. They’ve dealt with injuries, another wide receiver saga, and still have managed to be in the playoff picture despite playing a number of first and second-year players this season.

The team’s coaching staff has done a great job. Head coach Kyle Shanahan should be in the running for Coach of the Year (although it’s unlikely he’ll win it over Mike Vrabel this year). Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has found a way to pull the strings for a 49ers defense...

The San Francisco 49ers are fresh off their bye week, looking to take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday as they hope to improve to 10-4 in the crowded NFC West picture.

Heading into the weekend, the 49ers are one of the biggest favorites in Week 14, coming in as 12.5-point favorites over the 2-11 Titans at home. It’s a game San Francisco should and must win as they enter a crucial late-season stretch with many playoff implications on the line.

For the 49ers, it all starts with the offensive side of the ball. In a game like Sunday’s, the...

The San Francisco 49ers’ bye week has come and gone, and with such a late bye week, we turn our attention to the final stretch of the regular season.

With the 49ers entering Week 15 at 9-4 and a 93 percent chance to make the playoffs according to NFL.com, they will gladly look up and see ahead of them are the 2-11 Tennessee Titans in a tight fight for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.

While Tennessee is fresh off its second win of the season, the 49ers are looking to extend their win streak to four...

Robert Saleh, Klay Kubiak, Brock Purdy preview 49ers-Titans Week 15 matchup
“I think Friday’s nice just in terms of having just about everything in when it comes to like our game plan. Obviously, we’ll have first, second down, third down, red zone, everything. And so, Friday being able to compartmentalize everything and go over everything mentally and it’s a day for me in the evening where it’s like, all right, I can breathe a little bit to sort of see the big picture and then dial back into my little details from there. So, Friday is probably one of my...

The 7-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in an essential must-win situation against the 4-9 Atlanta Falcons. Technically, the Bucs can still lose and win the division, but the margin for error would be next to nothing.

Baker Mayfield hasn’t thrown for more than 200 yards since Week 10. He’s completed under 40 percent of his passes twice since then, and has thrown four interceptions in the previous four games. It’s been ugly. Tonight could be different with Mike Evans back in action and Jalen McMillan making his season debut.

Raheem Morris is a dead man walking, it seems. The Falcons...

The San Francisco 49ers’ injury report had a couple of changes on Thursday. First and foremost, Christian McCaffrey was listed as limited because of an illness. The media gets to see roughly 10 to 20 minutes of practice. It’s mostly stretching and the individual drills portion. According to the reporters on hand, McCaffrey was on the field for the early part of the session, but did not do much after ten minutes.

According to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, McCaffrey “didn’t look terrific in the locker room after practice.” It’s Thursday, and it will take a lot more than being sick...

When Fred Warner went down way back in Week 6 with a dislocated and broken ankle, it appeared his season was definitively over.

The likelihood still remains that Warner has played his last snaps this season, but the lengths to which the 49ers’ All-Pro linebacker is going in his recovery have fueled talk of a comeback in the playoffs if San Francisco does indeed make it into the dance.

Warner is making frequent use of a hyperbaric chamber as he aims to expedite his recovery, with his efforts receiving effusive praise from general manager John Lynch.

Speaking to KNBR on...

The San Francisco 49ers are refreshed following their bye week. The defense could return defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos, which is a welcome sight for a pass rush that can use all the help it can get down the stretch. Meanwhile, the offense is as healthy as it can be minus Brandon Aiyuk and ready to roll for the final four games and the playoff run. The only real question heading into Week 15 will be the MIKE linebacker spot, as Tatum Bethune and the new practice squad addition failed to practice on Wednesday, which would mean Curtis Robinson would start...

Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr went through the top potential head coaching candidates for 2026. As expected, Robert Saleh was included. What might surprise some is how strong a case Saleh has, and how he might already have a potential landing spot:

Saleh, 46, may have had the best candidacy boost of any coach this season simply by virtue of how his former quarterback and team performed without him. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell dug up the stat that has come to define Saleh’s candidacy for a second head coaching job: In the Jets’ final 17 games with Saleh as head coach,...