SANTA CLARA — Has the 49ers’ endless injury saga taken a positive turn?
Quarterback Brock Purdy, who exited a 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a sore back, reported to practice Wednesday without limitations as the 49ers (1-2) began their preparations to face the New England Patriots (1-2) at Levi’s Stadium in Week 4.
Tight end George Kittle also made progress with a hamstring strain that kept him out of the loss to the Rams because he was on the field in a limited capacity.
Among the players not scheduled to practice are receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (triceps). Samuel is not expected to play against the Patriots and Hargrave is likely out for the season and will soon be placed on injured reserve.
The 49ers continue to be without running back Christian McCaffrey (calf) and rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. (chest), both of whom are on injured reserve and not yet eligible to return.
Coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t point to injuries as the reason for the loss to the Rams.
“You have to be able to overcome those challenges,” Shanahan said. “We had every opportunity to win Sunday despite some of our injuries. I felt like we should have been 2-1, but we found a way to lose, and that’s our fault. When you lose games you think you should have won, it makes it even harder, whether there’s injuries or not.”
THE HISTORY OF THE CAP
Hargrave is the latest player to lose a major salary. His loss is significant because, unlike the others, he is not expected to return this season.
Including Kittle, who was limited Wednesday, the 49ers have six players either sidelined, on injured reserve, physically unfit or on the non-football injury list, accounting for $52,267,477 in salary cap dollars. Their roster replacements total $10,023,221, a difference of $42,244,256.
The salary cap this season is set at $255.4 million, although the 49ers have $56.8 million in salary space according to overthecap.com due to multiple contract restructurings.
The problem isn’t so much the lack of cap space as the fact that the 49ers are without the players they value most.
Here’s how it breaks down
Samuel $12,226,543 / Jennings $2,774,941
Kittle $12,220,475 / Éric Saubert $985,500
McCaffrey $6,682,588 / Jordan Mason $988,334
Javon Hargrave $9,270,882 / Jordan Elliott $2,140,000
Ricky Pearsall Jr. $2,279,709 / Ronnie Bell $934,446
Dr. Greenlaw $9,602,970/De’Vondre Campbell $2,200,000
Hurt: $52,267,477
Replacements: $10,023,221
More information to come on this breaking story…
