SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall missed the team’s first practice of the week with knee and ankle injuries, putting his status in doubt for this week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Pearsall returned to action after injuring his ankle on the first play of scrimmage last week against Tennessee. He then left for good in the fourth quarter after aggravating a knee injury that has kept him out of six games this season.
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Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Pearsall has made progress and didn’t rule out the chance that he could play Monday night in Indianapolis in a game that could clinch a playoff berth for San Francisco (10-4).
“There’s a chance,” Shanahan said Thursday. “He played a lot better today than he did on Monday. An extra day will help so he has a chance.”
Pearsall had his best game since returning from a knee injury in the win over the Titans, catching six passes for 96 yards. Pearsall struggled in his first three games back, with just five catches for 20 yards, but he looked to be back to his old self after getting loose on some big plays downfield last week.
The 2024 first-round pick started the season well with 20 catches for 327 yards, but was injured early in the second half of Week 4.
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The 49ers did have some key defensive players who missed Thursday’s practice recently, with linebacker Tatum Bettien (ankle), defensive end Sam Okuainonu (ankle) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring) all limited.
Eric Kendricks, who recently signed to the practice squad, missed practice with a calf injury. Kendricks, who could be elevated to the active roster this week to provide a spark against the run defense, has allowed 5.4 yards per carry over the past three games and will face a stern test this week against NFL leading rusher Jonathan Taylor.
“It wasn’t good enough,” Shanahan said of the run defense. “We know we need to do better, especially being challenged this week with such a good running group. I could sit here and make excuses about statistics and stuff like that, but it’s not good enough. So, we’ll work on the schematics, we’ll work on guys individually and things like that, and we’re hoping we can have a better performance this weekend.”
In other injury news, linebacker Nick Martin (concussion), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (knee) and offensive lineman Spencer Burford (knee, ankle) did not participate in practice. Cornerback Renardo Green was limited with a neck injury.
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