Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers returned to practice on Monday, but rookies Jordan Watkins, Upton Stout, or Mykel Williams were not on hand.
Stout was dealing with calf tightness, which kept him out of Saturday’s preseason game against the Denver Broncos. A hyperextended knee is why Williams is sidelined. We are in the dark about Watkins, but head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke after practice and said, “Jordan Watkins ended up having a high-ankle sprain and will be out about a month.”
Shanahan said Watkins didn’t feel the injury after the game, and was a little surprised after reporting other injuries. So Watkins got an MRI, and it came back as a high-ankle sprain, which generally means a player is out a month or so.
As for Stout, Shanahan said, “We were hoping Upton could go today. It was feeling too sore, so we’re being safe today. I’d be surprised if he goes tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll be back by the Raiders’ practice.”
Rookie safety Marques Sigle didn’t return to Saturday’s game with a knee injury, while second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune left with an ankle injury. Both players were present during Monday’s practice.
Renardo Green and Jacob Cowing have been battling injuries dating back to the start of camp. Their return to practice was pending a Sunday workout. Neither player was practicing, suggesting the workout did not go as well as anticipated for either second-year player.
Shanahan said, “Jake had a real good day today. Hit all of his times and stuff, so he’ll get out there tomorrow. Renardo didn’t, so we’ll be safe with him and hold him this week.”
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle), defensive tackle Evan Anderson (groin), linebacker Chazz Surratt, and offensive tackle Andre Dillard (ankle) all returned to practice. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings did some light jogging on the side, but then disappeared.
Interestingly enough, Sigle, not Brown, practiced with the first team to start at safety. We’ll see if that’s a trend that continues. Sigle was put into a couple of 1-on-1 positions against Denver and made the plays he was supposed to.
The injury report is steep, as the 49ers have a long list of players who didn’t practice:
Upton Stout (calf)
Renardo Green (hamstring)
Jacob Cowing (hamstring)
Jauan Jennings (calf)
Jordan Watkins
Jordan James (broken finger)
Mykel Williams (knee)
Tre Brown
Isaac Gurendo (shoulder)
Jordan Elliott (back)
Sam Okuayinonu (groin)
Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
Robert Beal Jr. (groin)
Richie Grant (knee)
Fabian Moreau
Kyle Shanahan is still confident the Niners can hold a joint practice against the Las Vegas Raiders this Thursday. Shanahan said there are a lot of young players who need the joint practice, which is why the 49ers will practice.
As for Demarcus Robinson, Shanahan said he’s planning for the worst. Shanahan anticipates Robinson will miss three games, but is hopeful that the suspension will be shortened with an appeal process.
