SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For the third straight game, the San Francisco 49ers will be without star left tackle Trent Williams as he continues to recover from a left ankle injury.
The Niners officially ruled out Williams on Friday ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bears. They also will be without safety George Odum (knee), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) and running back Jordan Mason (ankle).
There is, however, at least some hope for defensive end Nick Bosa. Although Bosa did not practice this week as he recovers from left hip and oblique injuries, he showed enough signs of improvement to be listed as doubtful for Sunday, according to coach Kyle Shanahan.
Whether that’s enough to have Bosa available remains to be seen, particularly since the Niners have a short week coming with a Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers have struggled mightily without Bosa and Williams, arguably two of the best players in the league at their positions and undoubtedly two of the most difficult to replace on the team.
Since Williams arrived via trade in 2020, San Francisco is 49-28 when he plays and 3-8 when he doesn’t. Since Bosa arrived in 2019, the Niners are 62-28 when he plays and 5-12 when he doesn’t.
Jaylon Moore will make his third straight start in place of Williams. Sam Okuayinonu and Yetur Gross-Matos would be expected to fill the void if Bosa is unable to play.
While the 49ers again will be without key starters, they do have a couple of important players back to full strength. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir will play against Chicago after missing last weekend’s loss to the Buffalo Bills with a knee injury. He doesn’t have a game designation.
The same is true of quarterback Brock Purdy, who returned from right shoulder soreness against the Bills and was a full participant in practice all week.
“He’s good,” Shanahan said. “We had to wait awhile to give him rest to make sure it healed, and we could see that it did at the end of last week. There were no issues on Sunday and he’s been great all week. So, glad to get him back to full speed and getting a full week of practice.”
The 49ers also are listing guard Aaron Banks (concussion), safety Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) as questionable. Banks still has more steps to clear in the protocol to play against the Bears, and the Niners will decide whether to activate Hufanga from injured reserve after opening his practice window this week.
