Team news: San Francisco 49ers | Page 17

For TNF:
-- 49ers TE George Kittle (ribs) and LB Fred Warner (ankle) were full participants and will play.
-- The team promoted TE Brayden Willis to the 53-man and put S Talanoa Hufanga on IR.
-- Seahawks ruled out DT Byron Murphy II and CB Riq Woolen, while there is optimism for Boye Mafe and Derick Hall to play.

Kittle finds himself in a fantastic spot against the Seahawks, who rank 30th in TE aFPA. Fire him up everywhere you can.

Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice will have surgery on Tuesday to determine the extent of the knee injury that he suffered eight days ago. Via multiple reports, he got some good news on Monday.

Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Rice might have avoided a torn ACL. He nevertheless needs to have an LCL repair.

As Rapoport characterizes it, Rice’s season “is expected to be over.” Separately, Rapoport says that Rice could miss “potentially three months” due to the LCL repair. That timeline would not end his season.

Related players: Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore, Travis Kelco

The news is starting to get a little more clear for Rice. Best case seems to be a return for the playoffs in three months. As the story said, Rice has eight felony accounts lurking. Florio went on to say that now that Rice will be sidelined due to injury, it makes sense to resolve the charges and take the suspension this year. While he would still lose his game checks, he would not lose the ability to play any more games than the injury will cause him to miss, the story pointed out.

Cooper Kupp has missed three games, and the Rams are on their off week this week.

Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that Kupp’s return for Week 7 would be “an ideal target” but “by no means is that guaranteed.”

Related players: Puka Nacua, Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, Jordan Whittington, Colby Parkinson

Kupp has not played since Week 2 when he injured his ankle against the Cardinals. The Rams did not place him on injured reserve, hoping he would miss fewer than four games, the story said. Kupp's return will help a banged up Rams WR group that still has Nacua out of commission. Whittington went for 7-89-0 and was targeted 10 times as well Atwell who finished 6-58-0 last week. Robinson had the lone TD catch but had a 3-28-1 line on five targets. Parkinson was targeted a team-high 13 times and went for 7-52-0.

For the second straight day, Commanders RB Brian Robinson did not practice today due to a knee injury.

Related Players: Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols

This coincides with Ekeler's progress in the concussion protocol, which could end up leading to a ton of work for the veteran back in Week 5. We'll keep an eye on this situation heading into Friday.

Austin Ekeler just told us on Grant & Danny that he is tracking toward being able to play on Sunday.

Related players: Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols

Ekeler missed Week 4 but it sounds like he expects to be back on the field against the Browns. The post went on to say Ekeler said he's feeling more like himself as he completes the steps of the concussion protocol. The return of Ekeler likely means less work for McNichols who had a great game in Week 4 in Arizona.

San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey has bilateral Achilles tendinitis, meaning he has it in both legs, per NBC Sports. McCaffrey recently went to Germany for treatment.

The 49ers said they expected to get a "better idea" on McCaffrey's status over the next few weeks. The team's plan was to ramp up his rehabilitation to "see how it responds." General manager John Lynch added that the team is aiming to "quiet down" the injury.

Related players: Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor

The story said Achilles tendinitis is described as "an overuse injury of the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects calf muscles at the back of the lower leg to your heel bone," according to the Mayo Clinic. Some Achilles tendinitis can be treated at home, while more serious cases can lead to tendon tears that may require surgery. The story went on to say, until McCaffrey, the team and the medical specialists see how the area responds to more work, it's hard to make a call on when he will be back, if he does come back this season. NFL Media reported Sunday that McCaffrey should be back, at least, by early November, but the report of bilateral Achilles tendinitis could change things. For now, Mason remains the bellcow. He had 24 carries in Week 4 with Deebo Samuel getting two. Guerendo had a fumble on special teams and had just one carry in the game.

49ers TE George Kittle (hamstring) sounds like he expects to return on Sunday against the Patriots. Says he's "very excited to play football" and "feeling fantastic."

Related Players: Eric Saubert

With Deebo Samuel more or less in the same boat, the 49ers are looking forward to getting some reinforcements after a brutal stretch of injuries. Kittle would be an absolute must-start if he returns in time for Sunday.

Dan Quinn said RB Austin Ekeler (concussion) is OUT for Sunday’s game in Arizona.

Related Players: Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols

Hopefully this will just be one week while Ekeler works through the protocol. Robinson has to be considered a high-end RB2 while his teammate is sidelined. No need to start McNichols anywhere.

Dan Quinn said Austin Ekeler went back to Virginia to treat his concussion. Also suffered a laceration in his ear. Quinn said he'll know more later in the week.

Related players: Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols, Nick Bellore

The Commanders are heading right to Arizona for a Week 4 game against the Cardinals instead of going back to Washington, according to reports. It's unclear if Ekeler would have cleared, or could still clear protocol. We may know more during the week, but owners should probably prepare to not have Ekeler for Week 4, which is a later afternoon game. Robinson should lead the way at RB with McNichols perhaps getting more touches if Ekeler doesn't play.

Commanders running back Austin Ekeler was injured in the second half Monday night.

Washington ruled him out with a concussion.

Related players: Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols, Nick Bellore

Ekeler will likely land in protocol making his availability in question for Week 4, which is an away game in Arizona in the later window of Sunday's action. Robinson should see a bigger role if Ekeler can't go, and in Week 3, McNichols did see one carry and could end up with some touches if Ekeler has to miss Week 4.