The injury reports for the season opener are here, and both the 49ers and Jets will miss a couple of players. Here's the injury report from Saturday, ahead of the Monday night kickoff.
49ers
OUT: DE Yetur Gross-Matos (knee), LB Dee Winters (ankle)
Doubtful: S Talanoa Hufanga (knee)
Questionable: RB Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles), G Aaron Banks (finger)
Jets
OUT: LB Zaire Barnes (ankle), OL Wes Schweitzer (hand)
Now, the lingering question is whether McCaffrey will play, and if so, how involved will he be. The answer to the first question is yes, McCaffrey is expected to play. John Lynch said as much this week and McCaffrey said Friday he will play in full.
Will there be limitations? Probably. Kyle Shanahan stated explicitly in training camp that it was a goal for him to limit some of McCaffrey's touches this season, so the idea of him being a bell cow in the opener seems dubious. Jordan Mason should be somewhat involved. That said, if the 49ers are trailing, Shanahan has showed he'll ride McCaffrey. It could depend on the flow of the game.
Banks, meanwhile, should play. He and McCaffrey were both limited every day this week but involved in practice.
As far as Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams go, Kyle Shanahan sounded encouraged about them being involved at their near normal levels.
On Aiyuk:
“I think he plays most of the game usually. Probably be surprised if it’s that same amount but he’s in good shape, he’s had a really good week, his soreness hasn’t been to big after practice, he’s pushed it real hard, done some extra stuff after, he looks good & he’s ready to go.”
On Williams :
"I thought he did good. It was nice to get the extra practice on Monday. I think it was Tuesday to the rest of the world... We'll see [if he plays the whole game]. I'd like him to. But we got to watch it. We got to talk to him. I haven't done this too much with a tackle. O-linemen are different with rotating and stuff than skill positions. But it also seems weird to watch Trent sitting on the sideline next to us. But that's something we'll be on top of throughout the game, and he'll be honest with us and how he feels and I know [OL coach/run game coordinator] Chris [Foerster] will be watching that a ton."
On the back end, expect veteran safety Tracy Walker to be elevated from the practice squad with Hufanga likely out. Keep an eye on what the 49ers do at safety next to Ji'Ayir Brown. Defensive coordinator was asked about whether veteran George Odum would start next to Brown and said the following:
"Yeah, [Odum]'s been going and he’s been doing good. Malik just keeps progressing too. So really happy with both of them. Along with [S Ji’Ayir Brown] Tig, obviously."
Maybe that's simple misdirection, but Mustapha impressed in camp and got some reps with the ones when Odum was hurt. Odum's also a star special teamer, so there could be a chance for Mustapha to start.
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