The 49ers injury list is not getting any shorter. The litany of injuries added another name to the tally Thursday, and one player regressed from the previous day.
Injury report
Here's the 49ers injury report for Thursday:
Did not practice:
Chris Conley (oblique)
Jacob Cowing (shoulder)
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf)
Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
George Kittle (ribs)
Fred Warner (ankle)
Limited:
Jordan Elliott (knee)
Kevin Givens (triceps)
Talanoa Hufanga (ankle)
Dee Winters (ankle)
Isaac Yiadom (thigh)
Both George Kittle and Fred Warner participated with pads on on the side of the 49ers' practice field. Chris Conley and Jacob Cowing were next to them without pads on doing rehab work.
Also of note is Isaac Yiadom's addition to the injury report, and Flannigan-Fowles' regression. He was limited Wednesday but did not practice Thursday.
For the Cardinals, it appears star tight end Trey McBride should play, having practiced in full as he works through the concussion protocol. Tackles Kelvin Beachum (hamstring) and Christian Jones (ankle) were both limited, as was defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (knee). Guard Isaiah Adams (thumb), kicker Matt Prater (left knee) and corner Garrett Williams (groin) did not practice for the second-straight day.
Brock Purdy sees defenses highlighting the 49ers' bread and butter
There are a multitude of questions for the 49ers to answer about the functionality of their offense. It has not been nearly as dominant as it was last season, and the struggles in the red zone are obvious.
Christian McCaffrey's absence looms large, but there's no telling when or if he will return. Brock Purdy was asked about how defenses are playing him and the defense this season, and he while he said defenses are all unique, he pointed out a "theme of man [coverage]." He thinks the 49ers could see that a bit more.
Perhaps more directly, defenses are trying to take away the middle of the field, that spot that leads to run after catch. It's where the 49ers (and especially Jimmy Garoppolo) have made their money in the Kyle Shanahan era. Purdy clearly sees teams directing attention there, he said Thursday.
"I 100 percent agree that they are," Purdy said. "I feel like my rookie year, that 2022 season, even with Jimmy man, we hit a lot of stuff over the middle. We had a lot of explosives like that, and cross courting plays and getting the ball, into Deebo and BA's hands, and then they break it one tackle, and they're gone. And so I feel like we do see a lot more help and stuff in the middle of the field, for sure, but at the same time, that opens up other things and avenues and areas for us to get better and attack."
Oh, and as for Aiyuk, Purdy seemed optimistic his numbers would start to tick upwards. He agreed defenses were putting more attention on him this season.
"I feel like he's definitely a guy that when defenses are scheming up our offense, they're they got to circle 11, and know that if you leave him one-on-one, he's going to be a target at some point in the game, and so they do their best of clouding, putting a safety over the top, and double teaming in and all that kind of stuff," Purdy said. "But for us, that's football, we still have plenty of opportunities for us to be able to get him the ball. And that's something that throughout the game plans and throughout the week, we still find a way to make it work. So I know we're going to get him plenty of targets and plays coming. So we're excited about it."
Foerster takes blame for lack of red zone production
The 49ers' 50 percent red zone touchdown rate ranks 20th in the league, tied with the New York Giants.
The cause of those struggles hasn't been abundantly clear. McCaffrey's absence is an obvious factor, but is it just that, or a lack of execution? Or something else. Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster took blame on his own shoulders for poor red zone play preparation.
"I blame myself number one," Foerster said. "We've had a call the last three weeks Minnesota, LA and New England, three calls that we made earlier in a series in the red zone. These were bad calls on my part to suggest, having them on the list. Even thinking we could run the plays, not having the foresight to think [the defense] might do something different. We had plays prepped for what we thought they were going to do, they came with something different. They were bad calls. I put them on the list as number one call, I said to call it."