Shanahan provides latest update on Floyd and Gross-Matos knee injuries Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Defensive ends Yetur Gross-Matos and Leonard Floyd avoided major knee injuries in the 49ers’ final preseason gamecoach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday.
Gross-Matos is listed as “week to week,” while Floyd is “day to day,” Shanahan said on a conference call with Bay Area reporters.
Shanahan said he didn’t believe Gross-Matos’ injury was serious enough for him to open the season on injured reserve, which would require him to sit out the first four games of the 2024 NFL regular season.
“We’ll see how it goes this week and hopefully he’ll get a chance to get back to practice for Week 1,” Shanahan said of Gross-Matos. “But we haven’t mentioned anything about IR.”
The 49ers open the season on Monday, Sept. 9 against the New York Jets, and Floyd is expected to be in the starting lineup.
In other injury news, the 49ers are hoping rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall will return to practice on Monday, which would seem to put him in rhythm to play the first game of the regular season.
However, Shanahan suggested that safety Talanoa Hufanga could open the season as a reserve/physically unable to play. He would have to miss the first four games of the season.
Hufanga He hasn’t returned yet to practice after suffering a torn ACL against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in November.
Linebacker Dee Winters suffered an ankle injury and is likely to miss part of practice. The 49ers had not yet received the results of Winter’s MRI when Shanahan spoke to reporters.
Floyd and Gross-Matos left the 49ers’ preseason game Friday night against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter due to right knee injuries.
Gross-Matos played just four snaps, while Floyd was on the field for six plays. Floyd pressured Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman on a third-and-two play in the first quarter and stopped him for a 1-yard gain that forced him to punt.
The 49ers have high hopes that Floyd and Gross-Matos will bring much-needed improvements to the 49ers’ defensive line this season.
Floyd, 31, enters his ninth NFL season with his fourth different team. After recording 18.5 sacks in his first four years with the Chicago Bears, Floyd totaled 39.5 sacks over the past four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.
The 49ers signed Floyd to a two-year, $20 million contract in the offseason before landing Gross-Matos on a two-year, $18 million deal.
Gross-Matos, 26, played his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks last season in just 12 games. He missed significant time last season due to a knee injury.
