49ers may field fewer than 48 players against Falcons amid injury concerns

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that the team may not reach the maximum 48 players on the game-day roster for Sunday's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The undefeated San Francisco squad travels cross-country for the game while managing a significant number of unavailable personnel. Shanahan acknowledged that elevating players from the practice squad is not expected to fill the roster to the league maximum for this contest. Instead, the former Falcons offensive coordinator indicated that the team has discussed preparing players to line up outside their usual positions due to the depth issues.

Shanahan described the situation as a first in his coaching career, noting, "I don't think ever in my career [has that happened]. It's a unique situation." The injury list includes receiver Mike Evans, who is dealing with a sore Achilles, and defensive end Nick Bosa, who has a calf injury. The receiver corps is further depleted with Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel Sr., De’Zhaun Stribling, and Demarcus Robinson unable to play Sunday. The 49ers also ruled out safety Marques Sigle and linebackers Garret Wallow and Luke Gifford for Week 7.

Bosa, who has not played since Week 2, recently expressed optimism about returning for Week 5 or 6. However, the team kept him out of practice to allow for extra recovery time. Shanahan said Bosa's optimism was surprising given the player's usual accuracy in assessing his status. "I just think he was a little too optimistic, especially for Bosa because he's pretty accurate," Shanahan said. He added that Bosa worked out after making those comments but was sore the next day, which was not a good sign ahead of playing on turf.

Veteran receiver Christian Kirk is in line to make his season debut Sunday, according to Shanahan. His return from injured reserve offers a boost to the receiving group. San Francisco will enter its bye week following the game against the Falcons.