While the San Francisco 49ers are likely to welcome running back Christian McCaffrey's return in Week 10, they could be without many of their other top players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
WR Chris Conley (hamstring), DL Kevin Givens (groin), CB Charvarius Ward (personal) and DL Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) are out. DL Nick Bosa (hip), OL Jon Feliciano (knee), WR Deebo Samuel Sr. (rib/oblique), S Malik Mustapha (calf) and McCaffrey are listed as questionable.
The Buccaneers will be without WR Mike Evans (hamstring). LS Evan Deckers (hamstring), DT Greg Gaines (calf), WR Jalen McMillan (hamstring), S Jordan Whitehead (quad) and DB Tykee Smith (knee) are questionable. QB Baker Mayfield did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was limited on Friday but does not appear on the team's final injury report.
49ers, Buccaneers seeking to get back on track
Both San Francisco and Tampa Bay made the playoffs a year ago, yet if the postseason began today, neither team would make the playoffs. The 4-4 49ers and 4-5 Buccaneers would see their chances of making the postseason shrink dramatically if they were to lose in Week 10. With a loss, San Francisco would go from a 57% chance to 41%, and Tampa Bay would go from 37% to 28%.
With such strong records through the NFC North and at the top of the NFC East, only one NFC West and NFC South team could likely make this year's playoffs.
Having McCaffrey back should certainly lift the 49ers' spirits. It certainly did for Trent Williams, who shared how happy he was to have the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year back on the practice field earlier in the week.
“Such an amazing feeling to see that ‘2-3′ out there doing his extensive warmup,” Williams told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “A million high knees he does before practice, it was great seeing him… Really, you could probably put him in any offense, it's going to make it better. Obviously, our offense is kind of tailor-made to him and some of his strengths, so it's definitely going to be a tremendous lift for us.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan also expressed appreciation for Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo's contributions during McCaffrey's long absence.
“I thought they both had a good game. [Mason] going down early and Isaac coming in, stepping it up.” Shanahan said. “Yeah, I think very similar to [Mason], also, in that. No one is Christian in terms of the passing game, but neither one of them are guys that can’t run routes and can’t beat linebackers, and they both have good hands. It’s something that he is decent at now and something that he should get better at as he continues to work.”
The 49ers travel to Tampa in Week 10 to play the Buccaneers on Sunday, November 10, at 1:00 p.m. EST.
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