Armstead and Hargrave are out of practice for the 49ers on Thursday
As the squad returned to practice on Thursday, wide receiver Jauan Jennings remained in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Jennings’ status for the 49ers’ Christmas Eve game against the Baltimore Ravens remains uncertain.
According to coach Kyle Shanahan, Jennings was one of six 49ers players who were not slated to practice on Thursday due to injury.
Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, both defensive tackles, stayed out due to ailments that have sidelined both starters. Armstead has missed two games owing to foot and knee ailments, while Hargrave has missed two games due to hamstring strains.
On Thursday, backup running back Elijah Mitchell (knee), linebacker Oren Burks (knee), and tight end Ross Dwelley (ankle) were not slated to practice.
Due to an ankle injury, defensive end Clelin Ferrell (ankle) was likely to be restricted.
Spencer Burford, the right guard, was set to return to full practice after missing time due to a knee ailment. Burford was replaced by Jon Feliciano against the Cardinals.
Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who was listed as day-to-day with bruised ribs earlier this week, was no longer among the players Shanahan listed as injured.
Jennings, the squad’s third wide receiver, is tied for sixth on the team with 19 receptions for 265 yards and one score. He also contributes his eager and successful blocking ability.
Here is Shanahan’s pre-practice 49ers injury report for Thursday:
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49ers’ Deebo Samuel on scoring spree as Ravens come to town for Christmas
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel is on the best touchdown streak of his career and wants more scores Monday when the 49ers host the Ravens
Deebo Samuel admits he’s had the most productive four games of his 49ers career, scoring more touchdowns than even Christian McCaffrey.
“It’s just crazy, because every time I get the ball, I try to score,” Samuel explained on Thursday. “It’s just tending to happen a lot right now.”
Not that the 49ers are short on points from other sources, but Samuel’s goal-line bravery might be crucial Monday when the 49ers (11-3) host the Baltimore Ravens (11-3), in a showdown between teams atop their respective conference standings with three weeks until the playoffs.
Will it be a defensive duel between the NFL’s stingiest squads? The Ravens allow a league-low 16.1 points per game and the second-ranked 49ers tout a 16.7-point average.
Or could a prime-time shootout ensue? The 49ers rank third in scoring (30.4 points per game) and the Ravens check in fourth (27.4 ppg.). Ahead of them are the Miami Dolphins (31.5 ppg.) and the Dallas Cowboys (30.8 ppg.), who meet Sunday in Miami in a matchup of their respective conference’s second-best teams.
Samuel expects the 49ers-Ravens game to offer a playoff-type atmosphere, because, “for us to continue to be the No. 1 seed, we know we have to continue to stack these days, stack these games and do what we.”
What he’s done is produce over the best four-game clip of his five-year career. He’s scored eight touchdowns during that stretch, with five scores coming on 22 receptions and the other three on just nine carries.
He concurs that he’s playing at a career-best level, stating: “I kind of think so, but there’s still a lot of stuff I need to work on to get better, week in and week out.”
“He’s hot right now, but I’ve seen him on hotter streaks, in playoffs and at times before,” wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk said. “We’re going to need to keep the hot streak going this week, for sure.”
The 49ers have not lost since Samuel returned to the lineup after a hairline fracture in his shoulder. That first-drive injury on Oc. 15 sent him out after only nine snaps in Cleveland, where the 49ers began a three-game losing streak.
“He’s come back and gotten healthy,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “When Deebo’s out there, stringing together practices and weeks, it’s a matter of time for the ball to come his way.”
Samuel has 11 touchdowns on the season, and his eight-touchdown tally the past four games came in wins over Seattle (twice), Philadelphia and Arizona. In that same stretch, six touchdowns have come from McCaffrey, whose 20 overall scores are tied for the NFL lead (with Miami’s Raheem Mostert) and three shy of Jerry Rice’s single-season 49ers record.
In fact, Samuel and McCaffrey are the first duo in NFL history to each score five touchdowns rushing and receiving in a season. “That’s crazy,” Samuel said following Sunday’s 45-29 win in Arizona, where both he and McCaffrey scored two touchdowns.
Yet an element of surprise exists with both of them on the field together. “You never know when I am back there if I am going to get the ball,” Samuel added, “Or if we are back there together, you never know where it is going.”
“Props to those guys over there,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton told Baltimore media Wednesday. “There are playmakers all over the field, (with) a solid front line. And we’re just the guys to go handle it.”
Samuel’s scouting report on the Ravens: “The way they fly around, (there is) no hesitation whenever they see the ball in the air.”
Samuel was a rookie in 2019 when, on a fourth-and-2 play, he ran a “go” route on fourth-and-2 for a 33-yard, opening-drive touchdown. He had two catches for 41 total yards, plus a 20-yard run as he emerged as the 49ers’ “wide back” weapon that season. The 49ers lost that game 20-17 in Baltimore on Justin Tucker’s walk-off field goal.
Shanahan credits Samuel’s scoring surge to good health, adding that the fifth-year pro started the season strong, too.
“He had some of his best games the first couple weeks, even at Pittsburgh and the ball just didn’t go that way,” Shanahan said. “Then he had setbacks with injuries. He’s been good here for a while and (the ball) has come his way.”
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