The 49ers trip to West Virginia has come to an end. The team will head down to Atlanta as it deals with a plethora of injuries, leaving more than a few questions for Sunday.
Among those, and clearly the most pressing, is Nick Bosa’s status. He returned to practice on Friday after sitting out on Wednesday and Thursday with a groin injury. But Friday practices are just walkthroughs, so his participation is not exactly a firm indicator of whether he’ll play.
At the very least, though, Bosa is questionable. Below are the 49ers’ game statuses for Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons:
OUT
- DL Arik Armstead (foot, ankle)
- DT Javon Kinlaw (knee)
- CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee)
- DB Jimmie Ward (hand)
- T Trent Williams (ankle)
Questionable:
- OL Aaron Banks (knee)
- DL Nick Bosa (groin)
- TE Tyler Kroft (knee)
The encouraging news here is that Samson Ebukam, who didn’t practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday with turf-related Achilles tendinitis, is not on the injury report. Also healthy are the likes of Ty Davis-Price (ankle), who practiced this entire week, and Robbie Gould (left knee contusion), who missed Wednesday’s practice but participated in full the following two days.
Emmanuel Moseley will likely be placed on injured reserve on Saturday, with a corresponding roster move to come.
As for Atlanta, the looming question is over their young, star tight end Kyle Pitts. He missed last week with a hamstring injury, but has a chance to go on Sunday. Their game statuses are as follows:
OUT
- LB Mykal Walker (groin)
Questionable
- LB Adetokunbo Ogundeji (shoulder)
- TE Kyle Pitts (hamstring)
- G Elijah Wilkinson (knee)
Pitts’ situation is especially interesting given the questions over who will start for the 49ers at outside corner opposite Charvarius Ward, and who will play nickel.
While Pitts obviously lines up mostly in the slot, his hyper-athleticism and receiver-like skillset has allowed him to move around.
Deommodore Lenoir has played exceptionally well in the slot after taking that job from Samuel Womack III. The 49ers could move one to the outside and play the other inside, or opt to keep Lenoir in his role and use Ambry Thomas or Dontae Johnson (practice squad) on the outside.
Thomas played down the stretch and made that crucial interception to seal the win against the Rams in Week 17, but he’s been relegated to the sidelines this season. Sufficed to say, the decision at corner will be an intriguing one.
