Nick Bosa made his return to the field on Wednesday, which was an encouraging sign in his recovery from a concussion suffered in the San Francisco 49ers Wild Card victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
San Francisco has felt relatively optimistic that the edge rusher could make his way back to the field in advance of Saturday's Divisional Round matchup against the Green Bay Packers, however, understanding the complexities of head injuries, nothing can be for certain.
In Bosa's case, the former first-round pick showed signs of improvement joining the team in the early portion of practices on Wednesday, followed up with his second-straight limited practice on Thursday.
On the team's final injury report heading into the weekend, the pass rusher was officially ruled as questionable. And according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, it appears that Bosa is on track to suit up for Saturday's game.
"We've got to put him on there (injury report) because of the steps of the protocol, but it's looking good," Shanahan said.
Jimmy Garoppolo has resumed throwing and appears to have no setbacks while dealing with a shoulder and thumb injury. The quarterback was limited this week after attempting to avoid landing on his previously injured thumb on Sunday and instead "jammed up" his shoulder on the fall.
He threw the ball great. He's looked as good as he did the week before," Shanahan said. "Jimmy's been playing through some things. But that's why he's full go because he's good enough to go and we don't treat it any differently."
Of note, Bosa, Garoppolo, Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), Dre Greenlaw (groin), Marcell Harris (Achilles), Talanoa Hufanga (knee), Elijah Mitchell (knee) and Fred Warner (ankle) were all full participants during Thursday's session.
Cornerback Ambry Thomas was limited in practice this week after suffering a bone bruise in the Wild Card matchup. According to the head coach, he should be "all right" to play on Saturday, however, if he does experience any setbacks, the team will look to Dontae Johnson or Josh Norman to play in his absence.
"I'm hoping he'll go. That's why we've got him as questionable," Shanahan said. "I think he'll be all right. That will come down to how he's feeling on gameday."
Defensive lineman Jordan Willis left last week's game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. It was assumed the pass rusher suffered a high-ankle sprain, however, fortunately for San Francisco, Willis was able to return to the field in a limited capacity this week. The 49ers designated the pass rusher as questionable heading into the weekend which gives the team optimism in his potential return for Saturday.
"He's had high-ankle sprains before," Shanahan said. "So, the fact that he has a chance to go this week means it could be an old injury mixed with some new. The fact that he has a chance makes me hope it's a little bit of the old. We'll see how he reacts on this plane ride and when we get out there because that usually doesn't help. So, we'll get him on his feet tomorrow on our walkthrough. But if he ends up playing, I think that tells you it was a little bit of the old injury."
As for Green Bay, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (back) has been ruled doubtful heading into Saturday's game. Valdes-Scantling was second in receiving on the Packers roster with 59 yards on three receptions in the Week 3 outing. Meanwhile, fellow wideout Randall Cobb was activated off of Injured Reserve after sustaining a core muscle injury in Week 12 and is expected to play. Tackle David Bakhtiari (knee), who was sidelined during the teams' first meeting, has officially been ruled as questionable heading into Saturday.
Here's a look at the final injury report heading into #SFvsGB:
49ers
Questionable
- CB Ambry Thomas
- DL Nick Bosa
- DL Jordan Willis
Packers
Doubtful
- WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Questionable
- CB Jaire Alexander
- T David Bakhtiari
