Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, and Jaylon Moore would miss the remaining two games of the season. Dre Greenlaw will likely miss the last 2 games as well
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan provided injury updates following the 49ers Week 16 game against the Miami Dolphins.
Left guard Aaron Banks will miss the final two games of the season due to an MCL injury. Left tackle Jaylon Moore, who has started more than a month now in place of Trent Williams will also miss the final two games due to a quad injury. Their replacement, Spencer Burford, is day-to-day as the team awaits his MRI for a calf injury.
Shanahan didn’t have an update on Williams. But he also hadn’t said what’s been obvious since William’s injury: That he won’t return this season. Shanahan said that Williams’ ankle “hasn’t been able to improve to get him out there, and that won’t change these next two weeks, especially with the situation we’re in.”
The 49ers must make several roster transactions amid multiple injuries and might need to move one of the guards on the roster to tackle: “We’ve brought in a couple of practice squad guys recently. When you get to this point when you’re down pretty low, we’ll have to make decisions on possible guards, too.”
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle) and linebacker Dee Winters (chest) are day-to-day. It’s unlikely that we’ll see Dre Greenlaw again. Greenlaw started the Dolphins’ game but only lasted four snaps and did not return due to calf soreness.
Shanahan spent extensive time speaking about Greenlaw, calling his return “inspiring” after watching what Dre’s been through:
“My gut is most likely that he’ll end up being shut down. I have to wait to talk to Dre on that to see how he’s doing. That’s a decision I’ll leave up to Dre, depending on how his health is.”
Greenlaw’s teammates, specifically Fred Warner, have been outspoken about saving Greenlaw from himself. Shanahan mentioned how Dre was “pretty emotional” when the team told him he wasn’t going back out after the first series.
Here’s Kyle’s quote talking about the fine line of playing Greenlaw and saving him from himself:
“That’s what we did on play 4. It’s also in Dre’s best interest to get out there and play. He told me he’ll be good next week [After the Rams game in Week 15]. That’s how bad he wants to go. But by no means doing it at the expense of next year. Dre understands. His passion and heart want to be out there.”
Running back Isaac Guerendo will return to practice Thursday after Christmas. Shanahan said Guerendo remains day-to-day but is “trending in the right direction.”