Vikings-49ers Thursday Injury Report: No McCaffrey, Williams, Samuel, Cleveland

None of the 49ers' three injured stars practiced on Thursday, but they could still progress in the next few days and play against the Vikings on Monday night.

RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique), WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder), and LT Trent Williams (ankle) all received DNPs for San Francisco in its first practice of the week. Two more starters — LB Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) and LG Aaron Banks (ankle) were also absent from practice.

It'll be worth monitoring all five players' involvement over the next two days. Game designations will come out on Saturday because it's a Monday game.

If McCaffrey can't play, it would be Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason at running back for the 49ers. Jaylon Moore is Williams' backup at LT. A potential Samuel absence would lead to snaps for either Ronnie Bell or Ray-Ray McCloud III at receiver alongside Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings. Ex-Packer Oren Burks is the backup to Greenlaw.

For the Vikings, left guard Ezra Cleveland (foot) didn't practice on Thursday. CB Akayleb Evans, OLB Pat Jones II, and WR Jalen Nailor were limited. Nailor is still on injured reserve but could potentially be activated ahead of Monday's game.

Cleveland got hurt in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Bears. He was replaced by Dalton Risner, who played pretty well in his ten snaps.

"Ezra's progressing pretty well," Kevin O'Connell said on Thursday. "Getting the swelling down in there. I know he's feeling better and better, we'll see what his workflow potentially could like as the week goes on."

Depending on Cleveland's status, Risner could be in line for his first start with the Vikings.

"Things that jumped out when (Dalton) went in there, he was incredibly detailed for a guy that has been progressing towards getting that opportunity," O'Connell said. "He was very physical. In the run game, it really showed up. You can tell the game makes sense to him when he's in there. No matter the post-snap movement or the look of the defense, he can adapt and get the job done. I thought he did a great job and we'll continue to get him a little more work as Ezra works his way back in there."

Here's the full injury report from Thursday:

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