Deebo Samuel and George Kittle will Play against Eagles, Jimmy Garoppolo will not
The 49ers just got some good news and some bad news.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s not the good news. This is: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle will play.
Garoppolo missed all three days of practice this week with a high-ankle sprain. “This game is just as important as Week 16,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday, “so it has more to do with can they protect themselves? Are they risking long-term injury? We’ve got to be smart with the guys. If Jimmy could have played this week, he’d be out there.”
In addition to Garoppolo, the following 49ers will not play against the Eagles:
Running back Raheem Mostert (knee)
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw (thigh)
Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (concussion)
Tight end Jordan Reed (knee)
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring)
Defensive end Dee Ford (back)
And nickelback K’Waun Williams is questionable with a hip injury.
Samuel missed the first three games with a Jones fracture in his foot he suffered during June. But he practiced all three days this week. “We definitely have to be smart with him,” Shanahan said. “You see a lot of these injuries around the league, it’s what happens when you don’t go through a totally normal process of an offseason like we did. I know he’ll be out there, but it won’t be his normal role, that’s for sure.”
Conversely, it sounds like Kittle should start and get his typical workload. “We were close (to getting him back) last week,” Shanahan said.
So that’s good news. But it doesn’t sound like the 49ers will get good news about Dee Ford any time soon. They intend to place him on Injured Reserve on Saturday. Are the 49ers concerned he might retire?
“When you’re dealing with a back, everything is a concern,” Shanahan explained. “And that stuff does loosen up randomly, too. So that’s why we’re playing it slow. I just saw him in the hallway on my way here. I think he’s doing better than he was a couple weeks ago, that’s for sure. Just something we have to be smart with. Can’t risk things when you’re dealing with that part of the body. That’s why we’re being cautious.”
