The 49ers will get a few reinforcements in Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
The San Francisco 49ers are about an hour and a half away from taking on the Los Angeles Rams, and the inactive list is out. We already knew that Malik Mustapha and Trent Williams wouldn’t play. Here’s the full inactive list:
QB Josh Dobbs
T Trent Williams (heel/ankle)
S Malik Mustapha (chest/shoulder)
RB Israel Abanikanda
CB Rock Ya-Sin
DT Khalil Davis
Edge rusher Nick Bosa tested out his hip/oblique injury and feels good enough to play. Bosa will return after missing the previous three games. Bosa could make his return against a backup left tackle. More on that in a bit.
Running back Isaac Guerendo reportedly planned on playing. He was seen on the field during pre-game warmups. Guerendo gives the 49ers versatility on offense on the ground and through the air. It also helps that his strengths are as a zone runner — an area where the Rams are bottom 10 at defending.
Dre Greenlaw will make his season debut. Whether he starts or how much he plays could depend on the gameflow and how Greenlaw responds in general. I’d imagine Greenlaw enters Thursday night on a snap count.
So the defense will have Bosa, Greenlaw, and Talanoa Hufanga back in the fold. Ji’Ayir Brown will likely take Mustapha’s spot in the secondary.
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles returns after being a full participant on Wednesday. He’s been out since Week 4. DFF’s presence will be felt on special teams.
The Los Angeles Rams are banged up. Cornerback Cobie Durant was ruled out. In a secondary that’s struggled, Durant has been the lone bright spot, allowing only a 48.8 percent completion percentage on 43 targets. The Rams will either start Washington Commanders cast off Emmanuel Forbes or our old friend, Ahkello Witherspoon.
Rookie center Beaux Limmer has only missed one game this season and will play after being limited this week with a knee injury. But the big one is left tackle Alaric Jackson. He popped up on the injury report with a new knee injury on Wednesday after not being listed on Monday or Tuesday. He was ruled out.
So, what will the Rams do at left tackle? They might be forced to start a player out of position. Whoever it may be, it’s advantageous for the 49ers, specifically Bosa. But if the Rams can’t block, which they struggled to do in the previous matchup these two teams played in, Matthew Stafford’s interception streak of a month could come to an end.
Jackson is active, but how effective will he be? Here’s the Rams’ inactive list:
QB Stetson Bennett
CB Cobie Durant
RB Cody Schrader
OLB Brennan Jackson
OL Dylan McMahon
OL Warren McClendon Jr.