SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The short-handed San Francisco 49ers won’t be quite so thin for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Niners made a flurry of roster moves Saturday afternoon, adding nine players to the active roster via four avenues.
Most notable was the activation from injured reserve of cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) and running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., both of whom were dealing with high ankle sprains.
San Francisco also activated left tackle Trent Williams and linebacker Joe Walker from the reserve/COVID-19 list, a pair of moves that come as a bit of a surprise one day after coach Kyle Shanahan said he believed there was an outside chance Williams would be activated. However, both players are considered questionable to play against the Rams after not practicing all week.
Williams, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, was considered high risk because of his status as a cancer survivor but was able to pass the protocols to be cleared to return.
In addition, the 49ers activated defensive lineman Alex Barrett from the practice squad and elevated offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and defensive linemen Darrion Daniels and Willie Henry Jr. as COVID-19 replacements.
Of the nine 49ers who began the week on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the 49ers have now activated five. Defensive tackle D.J. Jones, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, defensive end Jordan Willis and tight end Daniel Helm remain on that list.
With all of the moving pieces and three players — linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Dre Greenlaw and tight end Jordan Reed — listed as questionable because of illnesses that kept them out of practice late in the week, the Niners were limited to walk-through practices every day except Wednesday this week.
“Wednesday, I thought we had a great practice, lots of energy, especially for all the time that we had off,” Shanahan said. “I thought guys were eager to get going. It was a huge challenge on the D-Line just because our four scout team D-lineman had to go both ways the entire practice, just because the guys we were missing.
“Everyone else, I thought it was a little more fair to. So, I really loved Wednesday. But Thursday, when we lost those other guys, it just became walk-through and stuff. The guys were into it, locked in, but wish we could’ve got more out of it, but those were the circumstances right now.”