Christian McCaffrey won’t play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, and neither will Ambry Thomas or Arik Armstead.
That was about as specific as coach Kyle Shanahan got Monday when discussing who will play and who won’t when the 49ers host the Rams in their regular-season finale having already wrapped up the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
McCaffrey left in the second half with a calf injury, didn’t return, and called it “minor” in the post-game celebration after a 27-10 road win against the Washington Commanders.
“We’ll keep him out this week,” Shanahan said. He later added McCaffrey is expected to be full-go for the 49ers’ first playoff game following the bye.
“We’re real confident in that and it was good news,” Shanahan said. “Could have been a lot worse. “We’ll take care of him this week and hopefully he’ll get to go during our off week.”
Thomas played with a cast protecting a fracture on his hand and will have surgery Tuesday. Shanahan said there was a chance Thomas could have played Sunday following the surgery if needed, although now he’ll most likely return the following week.
As for Armstead, who has missed the last four games with a foot injury, Shanahan said, “We’ll continue to rest him, get him ready for the playoffs.”
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings and tackle Jaylon Moore have both been in concussion protocol for the last two games and will be evaluated this week, as well as tight end Ross Dwelley, who has a high ankle sprain and may sit it out. The same goes for left guard Aaron Banks, who was active but didn’t play against Washington.
As far as resting healthy players, Shanahan said the 49ers were still in the process of working on a plan for the last game — and that includes starting quarterback Brock Purdy.
“We don’t have that plan yet,” Shanahan said. “We’re still discussing those things.”
Others who could either sit or get limited time include left tackle Trent Williams, tight end George Kittle and front-line defensive players such as edge rusher Nick Bosa.
“No one is set right now,” Shanahan said. “I’m still discussing that with coaches and trying to figure it all out, what’s best for us, and I’ll probably discuss it with those players also. Not as many as you might think. It’s a hard thing to do and it’s not always the best thing to do too. We’re going to take everything into account and it’s something we’ll continue talking about throughout the day tomorrow.”
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Regardless, Shanahan wants to stay in the routine of practice and preparation.
“You’ve got to make sure you prepare for games by practicing and we’ve got a game on Sunday so when you give guys the game off, practice changes too, and that can end up hurting guys a lot,” Shanahan said. “You end up developing bad habits. I’ve seen it cost a lot of teams.”
Check back for updates on this story.
