49ers' Shanahan a man of few words about injured players

Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams all have "a chance" to play Monday night.

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Oct 19, 2023 5:06 PM EDT

The first official injury reports of the week get released by the Vikings and 49ers on Thursday ahead of their Monday night matchup in Minneapolis, and it was a coy update from San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan when he took questions about star running back Christian McCaffrey, who is dealing with an oblique injury.

Here's how it went down between him and reporters...

Reporter: With oblique, does that mean that rib has been ruled out of the equation
Shanahan: It means just oblique.
Reporter: What is the results of that MRI?
Shanahan: Oblique.
Reporter: Does that suggest that's a strain.
Shanahan: Um, I don't know what it is. It's something that makes him day-to-day though, so...
Reporter: Are you expecting all three of those guys to play, McCaffrey, Deebo and Trent Williams?
Shanahan: Um, Not today. They're not practicing today.
Reporter: Was the MRI on McCaffrey encouraging in your view?
Shanahan: I thought it was. Anyone who's day-to-day, you know, it means they got a chance.
Reporter: So they're all day-to-day?
Shanahan: Yes.

So there you have it. McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams all missed practice Thursday but are considered to day-to-day. It was somewhat noteworthy that Shanahan said they all "got a chance," but that also maintains the possibility that they sit out the game, which would be a tremendous bonus for the Vikings.

The official-official team injury reports hadn't been released at the time this story was published, but we'll include them in an update once they're available.