The San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday were expected to open the practice window for defensive Yetur Gross-Matos, who went on IR with a hamstring injury he sustained in the 49ers’ Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Rams. They made no such move.
Given the 49ers’ injury issues this year, and Gross-Matos’s difficulties staying on the field during his two seasons in San Francisco, it was easy to assume something went awry that delayed his expected return. It turns out the club is actually just keeping him on his normal schedule.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday before practice told reporters in a press conference that Gross-Matos is still coming off IR for Week 15. The team is just following the practice schedule he was on for the first five weeks before his injury.
“Just because of how the whole offseason went with him and our plan this year,” Shanahan said when asked why Gross-Matos didn’t practice Wednesday. “We don’t ever practice him two days in a row on Wednesday and Thursday. So, he only practiced on Thursdays regardless, even before we got hurt. So, we’re not going to open until that day.”
This makes a ton of sense. If the 49ers are still going to manage Gross-Matos by giving him Wednesdays off, opening his 21-day practice window Thursday maximizes that window. They could’ve opened his window for Wednesday’s session, but that would start his 21-day clock when he wasn’t going to practice anyway.
For now, the red flag stays down on the 27-year-old, but it will go up quickly if Gross-Matos doesn’t return to action Thursday.
More 49ers: 49ers 1st Week 15 practice report features mixed bag of good, bad news
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Shanahan reveals reason for strange timing on injured DE’s return
Reporting by Kyle Madson, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
