Jake Moody is an option with a high-ankle sprain. He’s expected to miss a month. But a pair of starters in the secondary are also potential options.
Talanoa Hufanga has ligament damage in his wrist and will miss a month or so. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said, “A month. Probably longer. Could be. We haven’t decided whether to do it or not yet.”
The team is still debating whether to put Hufanga on the Injured Reserve. Shanahan said he’s been happy with rookie safety Malik Mustapha, specifically his communication.
Here’s the practice report for Tuesday:
Did not participate:
S Talanoa Hufanga – wrist
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles – calf
K Jake Moody – ankle
DT Jordan Elliott – knee
Limited:
CB Charvarius Ward – knee
WR Chris Conley – oblique
TE George Kittle – ribs
LB Fred Warner – ankle
S Ji’Ayir Brown – ankle
When asked when Ward got hurt, Shanahan “During the game, he had a bruise on his knee.” That might explain why Ward’s performance was confusing this past Sunday.
Shanahan was asked if the Injured Reserve was an option for Moody. He said yes, as well as Hufanga and Ward:
“It’s a high ankle sprain, so I usually say about a month. Sometimes, they go quicker, and sometimes, they take longer. IR’s an option. Having Huf in that situation where we have to decide. Mooney could be a possible decision. We have a number of guys already on it, so we’re just trying to weigh all that stuff.”
If the team is considering the IR for Ward, it’s unlikely that he’ll play on a short week. That would mean Renardo Green would make his first start in a divisional road game against a team with three high-quality wide receivers.
From a matchup perspective, Isaac Yiadom has the height and speed to run with DK Metcalf. That’s the wide receiver Ward has not only followed around with but kept under wraps.
We’ll see how the injury designation looks on Wednesday’s final report, but it does not sound promising for the 49ers CB1.