SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers began preparation for Saturday’s showdown against the Seattle Seahawks with two of their best players — left tackle Trent Williams and running back Christian McCaffrey — sitting out Tuesday’s practice.
Though Williams and McCaffrey don’t normally participate in the first practice of the week because of veteran rest days, the pair showed up on Tuesday’s participation report with actual ailments. In Williams’ case, it was an injured right hamstring suffered in Sunday’s win against the Chicago Bears. McCaffrey was a new addition because of what coach Kyle Shanahan described as back stiffness.
Of the two, Williams’ status for the game against Seattle appears to be more tenuous. Shanahan said there isn’t yet a determination on how much time Williams could miss after injuring the hamstring on the first play of last week’s game. He did leave the door open for Williams to play against the Seahawks, though that will be difficult, especially on a short week.
“Not sure how long [he’ll be out],” Shanahan said. “He’s got a shot for this week.”
McCaffrey was more adamant about his status, saying the back issue is “not serious” in his weekly meeting with the media. Shanahan indicated McCaffrey has been fighting the back stiffness since the Dec. 14 game against the Tennessee Titans.
“I know he battled it hard that week, but I haven’t heard anything about it since,” Shanahan said. “It might have stiffened up in the game, and it was sore from Sunday night, so that’s why we’ve got him on here today.”
In better news for the 49ers, tight end George Kittle was a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice after missing last week with a sprained left ankle. Kittle injured the ankle against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 22, then didn’t practice last week or play against the Bears.
Kittle’s participation in practice is a positive sign, but Shanahan wasn’t ready to declare that Kittle will return this week just yet since the Niners didn’t have anything close to a full-speed practice Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t assume that [he’ll play this week],” Shanahan said. “We’re barely moving today. We have a short week, so we won’t be doing much all week.”
Defensive lineman Keion White (groin) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (hip) also did not practice because of lingering issues from the win against Chicago.
Like Kittle, receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee), cornerback Upton Stout (concussion) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) were limited.
Saturday’s game comes with significant stakes: The winner will be the NFC’s No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Shanahan and the Niners weren’t thrilled with the game landing on Saturday because it leaves them less time to rest and recover from injuries for a second straight week.
“Once you find out, you spend 10 seconds bitter about it then you say it is what it is,” Shanahan said. “Everyone’s got to deal with it sometimes, that’s just how it is. So, you get frustrated but nothing you can do after that. Then you’ve got to make the adjustments to make sure you’re right for that day. … You just try to take care of your guys and get them as ready for that short week as much as you can.”
