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nick wagner
Santa Clara, California — The san francisco 49ers Started preparations for Saturday’s match against Seattle Seahawks With his two best players – left tackle trent williams and running back Christian McCaffrey — Sitting out Tuesday’s practice.
Although Williams and McCaffrey typically do not participate in practice the week before due to experienced rest days, the pair appeared on Tuesday’s participation report with actual illnesses. In Williams’ case, he suffered a right hamstring injury in Sunday’s win against Chicago BearsMcCaffrey was a freshman because of what coach Kyle Shanahan described as back stiffness,
Of the two, Williams appears to be in more vulnerable position for the game against Seattle. Shanahan said it’s not yet known how much time Williams might miss after suffering a hamstring injury on the first play of last week’s game. He left the door open for Williams to play against the Seahawks, although it would be difficult, especially in the short week.
“Don’t know how long [he’ll be out],” Shanahan said. “He’s got a shot for this week.”
In his weekly meeting with the media McCaffrey was more firm about his position and said the previous issue was “not serious”. Shanahan indicated that McCaffrey has been dealing with back tightness since the December 14 game against tennessee titans,
“I know he worked hard that week, but I haven’t heard anything about it since,” Shanahan said. “Maybe it got stiff in the game, and it’s been sore since Sunday night, so we’ve kept him here today.”
Good news for 49ers tight end george kittel There were limited participants in Tuesday’s practice after missing last week due to a left ankle sprain. Kittel injured his ankle indianapolis colts on Dec. 22, then did not practice or play against the Bears last week.
Kittle’s participation in practice is a positive sign, but Shanahan was not yet ready to announce that Kittle will return this week as the Niners did not have anything close to a full-speed practice on Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t believe that [he’ll play this week],” Shanahan said. “We’re moving hard today. We have a short week, so we won’t be doing much all week.”
defensive lineman keyon white (groin) and fullback kyle juszczyk (Hip) Also did not practice due to issues related to the win against Chicago.
like kittel, receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee), corner bench upton stout (concussion) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (Knees) were limited.
Saturday’s game comes with significant stakes: The winner will be the NFC’s No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Shanahan and the Niners were not thrilled with the game landing on Saturday as it gives them less time to rest and recover from injuries for the second consecutive week.
“Once you find out, you spend 10 seconds being bitter about it and then you say it is what it is,” Shanahan said. “Everybody has to deal with it sometimes, that’s the way it is. So, you get frustrated but after that there’s nothing you can do. Then you have to make adjustments to make sure you’re right for the day. … You just try to take care of your guys and prepare them as best you can for that short week.”
