Evans is a Monday decision, and without him the 53 has three healthy receivers
Kyle Shanahan's whole answer on activating Christian Kirk was 'Possibly.' The roster is full, so a yes costs somebody a spot.
Washington plays San Francisco at Levi's Stadium on Monday at 5:15 p.m. Pacific, on ESPN and ABC, and on the radio at KNBR, 104.5 FM and 680 AM, and KSAN, 107.7 FM. It is the first regular-season night game at Levi's this year and the first Monday night game of the season for either club.
San Francisco is 5-0. Washington is 1-3-1. The injury report is where the game sits, and the receivers are at the top of it.
Samuel is out, Evans is a Monday call, and the count behind them is three#
Deebo Samuel is out with the hamstring he hurt in the third quarter in Seattle. Mike Evans did not practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday and is questionable with the rib injury he has been playing through plus Achilles soreness that showed up this week. Kyle Shanahan's forecast on Saturday was short: "We'll know on Monday I think."
Five receivers are on the 53. Take out Samuel and Evans and the three left without a designation are Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins, who have 4 catches between them this season. Evans has 24 for 326 yards and three touchdowns, Samuel 16 for 206 and three. George Kittle, at 21 for 268 and four scores, has the most targets, 28, of any 49er certain to dress.
Christian Kirk is the fourth receiver if the club wants him to be. His 21-day practice window off injured reserve opened Thursday, 81 days after he strained a calf on the first day of camp, and he was limited all three days. Asked whether Kirk would be activated for Monday, Shanahan said "Possibly," and nothing else. The 53 is full, so activating Kirk means a corresponding move. The cheaper route is the practice squad, which carries four receivers, Malik Turner, Xavier Smith, Wesley Grimes and Will Pauling; the club may elevate two of them for the game without a roster move at all, and Shanahan said a week ago that one most likely would be.
The rest of the report#
Eighteen San Francisco players are on the final sheet: four out, six questionable, eight with no designation.
Nick Bosa is out a fourth straight game, knee and calf. Shanahan said Saturday the club had expected it despite Bosa's own optimism a week earlier: "We were going to make sure it was fully good and another week will help." Gracen Halton, who missed Thursday and Friday with a quadricep before a limited Saturday, is questionable, and so is Mykel Williams with the knee. On Williams, who played Seattle without incident, Shanahan explained the tag as policy: "Anybody we have any question about is questionable."
Marques Sigle is out with the ankle, which puts Malik Mustapha in at safety. Garret Wallow is out with a hamstring, and Dre Greenlaw serves his one-game suspension, eligible to return Tuesday, so Jaden Dugger is in line to start at linebacker beside Fred Warner. Upton Stout, shoulder, and Siran Neal, neck, are questionable after limited weeks.
Kyle Juszczyk is back. He hyperextended a knee against Denver, the first estimate was three weeks, he missed one game, and he was a full participant Friday and Saturday. Shanahan's word was "full-go." Kaelon Black missed Saturday for the birth of his child and is expected to play; Shanahan's reasoning was that Black is not questionable, so yes.
Washington arrives with its quarterback and without its running back#
Jayden Daniels plays. He missed two games with an elbow injury and came back against the Giants on October 11, a 27-27 overtime tie, where he threw for 199 yards on 17 of 25 and ran nine times for 103 yards and two touchdowns. The man behind him does not play: Marcus Mariota is out with a knee. The only other quarterback who has thrown a pass for Washington this season is Athan Kaliakmanis, who started the Colts game and went 15 of 33.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is out with a groin he re-injured this week, per Dan Quinn. He leads Washington with 239 rushing yards on 67 carries; Rachaad White, next with 118 on 29, has caught all ten of his targets.
Twenty-two Washington players are on the sheet: four out, nine questionable, nine with no designation. Charles Omenihu, groin and ankle, is the other out of note. Stefon Diggs, who leads the club with 18 catches, is questionable with a hamstring. Terry McLaurin leads it in yards, 203, and carries no injury. Javon Kinlaw, the 49ers' first-round pick in 2020, is questionable with an ankle and a knee.
Ten to watch#
- Mike Evans. The receiver Purdy has thrown to most, 34 targets, and a decision that waits for Monday.
- Christian Kirk. Activated or not, by Monday afternoon.
- Brandin Cooks. One catch for seven yards and a touchdown in five games, and the most seasons, 13, of any receiver certain to dress.
- Jordan Watkins. Two catches for 60 yards, both against Arizona, and 22 of the 60 offensive snaps in Seattle.
- George Kittle. Four touchdowns in five games, and the matchup Washington has to pick a plan for.
- Kyle Juszczyk. Back after one game, inside the three-week estimate.
- Jaden Dugger. The rookie starts in Greenlaw's place and had nine tackles in Seattle.
- Gracen Halton. Questionable, with four tackles for loss, tied with White for the club lead, plus the fumble-return touchdown in Seattle.
- Keion White. Three sacks, the most of any 49er, on a line without Bosa.
- Malik Mustapha. Starts for Sigle, and the safety who recovered the fumble inside Seattle's 20.
Purdy is five attempts from 1,500 for his career, the threshold to qualify for the league's career passer-rating list, where his 105.4 would stand first. Seattle's three sacks are the only ones he has taken all season.
Keena Turner is inducted into the club's Hall of Fame at halftime, its 34th member, after 11 seasons and four Super Bowls. Shanahan, asked about the last time he took a 5-0 team into a primetime game against a bad one, Atlanta in 2015, said he had no idea who the opponent was. He did remember who kept him employed that winter, and it was Dan Quinn.
Sources: the 49ers' and Commanders' final Week 6 injury reports and the 49ers' roster page, read Monday morning; the club's Week 6 status report and Kyle Shanahan's Saturday transcript as published by the club's communications staff via 49ers Webzone; Dan Quinn's Saturday status report at commanders.com; the club's 5 Things to Know and Ways to Watch pages; ESPN box scores for all ten games, summed; Matt Maiocco at NBC Sports Bay Area for Kirk's camp timeline.
