SANTA CLARA — Defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos are not expected to open their first seasons with the 49ers on injured reserve despite suffering knee injuries in the final preseason game Friday night in Las Vegas.
While Floyd is considered day-to-day, Gross-Matos is considered more week-to-week with no mention of an IR stint, coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday during a conference call.
The 49ers lack experienced defensive ends behind stalwart Nick Bosa, and Shanahan declined to reveal what reinforcements might make the initial 53-man roster unveiled Tuesday.
“You’ll see when we decide on the 53. That sounds like a question the other 31 teams are asking you to ask me,” Shanahan said, half-joking. “Sorry, man, but it’s too hard to ask specific questions right now.”
Options on the roster include Robert Beal Jr., Alex Barrett, Jonathan Garvin and Sam Okuayinonu. Gross-Matos and Beal have been the immediate replacements for Bosa and Floyd throughout camp. Gross-Matos and Floyd were injured on a three-snap stretch in the first quarter of Friday’s preseason finale against the Raiders (24-24).
HEALTH NEWS
Prospective linebacker Dee Winters injured his ankle while playing 23 defensive snaps and 10 more on special teams Friday night. The 49ers were awaiting the results of his MRI to determine how long he could be sidelined.
Defenseman George Odum was scratched from Friday’s lineup after twisting his ankle in warmups and limping on the opening kickoff, Shanahan said. As a result, rookie Malik Mustapha started in place of Odum, who is expected to be in the opener if Talanoa Hufanga remains on the physically unfit list for the first month of the regular season.
Receiver Ricky Pearsall will return to practice Monday. He has been out since Aug. 6, when he injured his shoulder, which Shanahan said he has partially dislocated three times since his freshman year.
DECISIONS ON THE LIST OF TEAMS
The current contract impasses with Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams could impact how the 49ers construct their initial 53-man roster. Aiyuk traveled with the 49ers to Las Vegas because the 49ers wanted all of their players on their roster to be there. Williams remains on the reserve/no-show list, so he won’t count against that 53-man limit unless he reaches a contract resolution before Tuesday.
Shanahan said of the 49ers’ roster challenges: “It’s just connecting all the positions. There’s some unknowns with BA and Trent right now, and we’ve got a lot of good competition at a lot of positions, whether we choose to put a little weight on it or we choose to put a lot of weight on some guys. I certainly don’t want to get into the details, because that’s what all 32 teams are doing right now: They’re watching everyone’s roster, listening to everything and figuring out what player they can get.”
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Shanahan said the 49ers have not yet decided or informed Brock Purdy’s replacements which ones will be on the initial roster, “so we’re still working on that.”
Josh Dobbs has been more active and has produced more than Brandon Allen, last season’s third option behind Purdy and Sam Darnold. Dobbs, in 81 snaps, has completed 34 of 51 passes (66.7 percent) for 351 yards with a touchdown, an interception, a sack and two rushing touchdowns. Allen, in 55 snaps, has completed 19 of 30 passes (63.3 percent) for 194 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and three sacks. Undrafted rookie Tanner Mordecai has played 29 snaps over the last two games (6 of 10, 103 yards).
Purdy took 35 preseason snaps, split across three series in last Sunday’s win over New Orleans and Friday’s loss at Las Vegas. He attempted just 18 passes, with 11 completions for 107 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and two sacks.
Rave REVIEWS for Guerendo
Rookie Isaac Guerendo opened eyes with a 93-yard kick return in his debut, but he also impressed in his 28 offensive snaps. He carried the ball 11 times for 32 yards and caught both passes intended for three yards. Shanahan noted that Guerendo has yet to practice with pads; he strained his hamstring in the first practice of camp, and neither of last week’s practices required pads.
“I really liked the way he ran for so long without protection; he tried to break tackles, never let up, tried to run through, hit the hell out of the gaps and had a really good first game,” Shanahan said.
LOGAN THOMAS 2.0
Released early in camp after a hamstring injury, tight end Logan Thomas re-signed last week after declining offers from other teams, Shanahan said. Roster demands at other positions prompted the 49ers to initially release Thomas, and they told him at the time they were hopeful of an eventual reunion. Thomas didn’t play in Friday’s game, but he’s apparently in the mix as George Kittle’s backup, along with Eric Saubert, Brayden Willis, Jake Tonges, Cam Latu and Mason Pline.
PUNITIVE INCORPORATED INTO GUARD
Dominick Puni, a third-round draft pick, earned the starting job at right guard, a position he never played in college. Although he played left tackle last year at Kansas, the 49ers didn’t draft him at that position in camp, largely because injuries to Spencer Burford (hand) and Jon Feliciano (knee) thrust Puni into the starting role on Day 3. “We probably would have (tried Puni at tackle) if he didn’t have competition at starting guard the first couple of days,” Shanahan said. “We didn’t draft him to put him at left tackle, but we knew he had the skill set to put him on the field if we had to.”
Fellow rookies Jarrett Kingston and Drake Nugent were praised by Shanahan for playing their best preseason games Friday night.
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