Ahkello Witherspoon was carted off the field in the second half of the San Francisco 49ers Week 3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with an unspecified foot injury. Following an MRI on Monday, Kyle Shanahan confirmed the details, announcing the cornerback will miss "at least a month" while dealing with a foot sprain.
Witherspoon was coming off of a strong start to his third NFL season, notching five passes defended and his first-career pick six through the 49ers first three games. According to the head coach, second-year cornerback Emmanuel Moseley is a candidate to get the start in Witherspoon's absence. Shanahan expects the position to take shape over the 49ers practices ahead of their Week 5 Monday night matchup.
"We've got D.J. Reed Jr., who can play corner," Shanahan said. "We've got (Moseley), and we've also got Jason Verrett. We've got three guys that can do it. We know Jimmie Ward can also play corner so we've got other guys on this team who can play. So it will be next man up."
The team intends on getting a second opinion on Witherspoon's foot in the coming days.
The 49ers will get back two key pieces of the offense ahead of the primetime matchup against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. Jalen Hurd, who missed the last month with a stress reaction in his back, is expected to return to practice. According to the head coach, Hurd will continue to rehab at the team's facility over the bye week, and is expected to practice on Monday.
Running back Tevin Coleman is also expected to return next week following an ankle injury suffered during San Francisco's Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to Shanahan, the running back has been jogging during practice and appears to be "moving pretty well."
There's a good chance that both Coleman and Hurd will suit up ahead of San Francisco's "Monday Night Football" contest at Levi's® Stadium against the Browns.
