Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers’ inactive list is out. A feel-good story ahead of the game is that longtime announcer Greg Papa plans to return to the 49ers radio booth for the Seattle Seahawks game. The voice of the Niners has missed the entire regular season thus far while battling leukemia. He was slated to return last week against the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, but had to cancel at the last minute. He will be back tonight.
That’s the good news for the Niners. The bad news is they’ll be without their left tackle and WR1. Here are the inactives:
Isaac Guerendo
Ricky Pearsall
Trent Williams
Kevin Givens
Robert Beal Jr
Curtis Robinson
Chase Lucas
Kyle Shanahan needed to be smart on Saturday night. It never really felt like Williams had a chance, but Pearsall, who was limited in practice all week, felt like he had a shot. He has been a difference maker for the offense this season, coming through for Brock Purdy on multiple occasions in key situations.
No Pearsall could mean even more reason to use multiple tight ends and heavy formations against a Seahawks defense that is weaker down the middle. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne will have to step up when called upon, as will Demarcus Robinson, but Jake Tonges could be the X-factor in the passing game.
It goes without saying that Christian McCaffrey will have a heavy workload. He’ll likely see the biggest uptick in usage, if that’s even possible. Then there’s George Kittle, who saw four targets in Week 1 against the Seahawks in limited action.
Austen Pleasants gets his first start in a big spot. Best of luck, Mr. Pleasants.
Lucas being inactive is a sign that Upton Stout cleared the concussion protocol. Renardo Green will also return to the secondary after missing the previous two games.
