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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2024, 06:26 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After four practices this week, the San Francisco 49ers will welcome left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Brandon Aiyuk back for Monday night’s regular-season opener against the New York Jets.
The lingering question for Williams and Aiyuk, both of whom resolved their contract issues in time to begin practicing with the Niners on Tuesday, is just how many snaps they’ll be able to play after missing almost all of training camp and the preseason.
The answer, it seems, might be different for each player. According to coach Kyle Shanahan on Saturday, Williams is likely to take on something closer to his full, normal workload, while Aiyuk is set for a bit of a reduction in the number of snaps he normally plays.
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Because Williams plays offensive tackle, it’s less likely the Niners will want to sub him out in any sort of rotation with backup Jaylon Moore unless absolutely necessary.
Shanahan said Williams returned in good shape and got better through each of the four practices the team held this week. Still, that’s not much time to then go and play a full game’s worth of snaps, which means Williams will be monitored closely throughout the game by offensive line coach Chris Foerster.
“I’d like him to [play the whole game], but you’ve got to watch it,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got to talk to him. I haven’t done this too much with a tackle. O-linemen are different with rotating … but also it seems weird to just watch Trent sitting on the sideline next to us. That’s something we’ll be on top of throughout the game and he’ll be honest with us and how he feels.”
The Niners will make a roster move by Monday afternoon to clear a space for Williams, who was on the reserve/did not report list after holding out 40 days as he awaited a reworked contract. Williams has been able to practice this week on a roster exemption. Shanahan said the corresponding roster move has not yet been made.
Williams signed a revamped contract worth $82.66 million over three years and includes $48 million fully guaranteed on Tuesday. Foerster said Williams looks ready to go after a few days of practice.
“Trent is Trent,” Foerster said. “He continues to be Trent. He gets out there and I think as always, I think we’ve talked about before in getting guys ready to play, there’s that push and pull of being full speed against somebody shoving on you. Yesterday got him a little bit, but today he seemed much better and tomorrow he’ll continue to push himself. We’ll see how it goes.”
Aiyuk, who signed a four-year extension worth $120 million on Aug. 30, had been around the team throughout training camp and the preseason as a “hold-in.” That allowed him to attend meetings, though he did not practice. Shanahan said Aiyuk is also in good shape and looks like his usual self but because of the strain of his position, he’s likely to play a little bit less. Aiyuk generally plays most of the game, as he played 82% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps in 16 games last season.
“Don’t know [how much he will play] yet,” Shanahan said. “He plays most of the game usually. Probably be surprised that same amount, but he’s in good shape. He’s had a really good week. His soreness hasn’t been too big. After each practice he’s pushed it real hard, do some stuff extra after and he looks good and he’s ready to go.”
Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy have even sought extra time to work together, organizing a one-on-one throwing session last weekend in order to get on the same page. Purdy said that extra time was beneficial.
“It was huge,” Purdy said. “Just he and I out in the field and just getting back into our base fundamentals like routes and everything. …That was a good day for me to just get back into sync of seeing how he moves and feeling it out again. This week at practice we sort of picked up where we left off.”
With Aiyuk and Williams set to play, the 49ers officially listed running back Christian McCaffrey as questionable with calf and Achilles injuries. McCaffrey was a limited participant in practice all week but said Friday he had no doubt that he would play against the Jets and was hopeful that he could take on his usual workload as the team’s primary back.
Shanahan said Saturday that McCaffrey’s injury isn’t related to the one he suffered in Week 17 of last season against the Washington Commanders but added “I think it’s similar.”
Jordan Mason would be the first running back up for any snaps McCaffrey is unable to take.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga, who is still working his way back from a torn ACL in his right knee, is listed as doubtful after he returned to practice in the past couple of weeks. The injury happened on Nov. 20 of last year and Hufanga spent most of camp on the physically unable to perform list.
While Hufanga is unlikely to play against the Jets, his return is close.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily too soon,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s looked great so we’re just trying to be as safe as we can be with him. Be smart with him. We haven’t ruled him out just in case of an emergency or anything, which means that if he needed to, he would be available.”
Elsewhere on the injury report, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) have been ruled out against the Jets. Like McCaffrey, guard Aaron Banks (pinky) is questionable.
