The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play what could be a very winnable game against the Baltimore Ravens, but their offense could be missing key pieces. As Colin Kaepernick is looking for a breakout game with offensive consistency, injuries could hurt the effort. With Sunday getting close, an early exit from Carlos Hyde in practice is not welcomed.
According to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, Hyde left practice on Thursday with a foot injury that also caused him to miss practice on Wednesday. Hyde has been the starting running back all five games this season and while his numbers are not overly impressive in the four straight losses, he has shown the potential to be great when he gained 168 yards in the 49ers' only win over the year. An injury to Hyde could put their ground game on ice.
The issue for San Francisco is that Reggie Bush is also not expected to be playing in Week 6. The running back has been dealing with a calf strain for the entire season and has been absent from practice since re-aggravating it. If both Bush and Hyde are out for Week 6 play, that would leave Jarryd Hayne and Mike Davis as the running back rotation. According to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, Hayne has been getting the first-team reps in practice with both players out. That does not instill much confidence to San Francisco. Hayne had two carries for nine yards against the Giants.
With the run game struggling, but the offense gaining momentum, the 49ers are not yet ready to throw in the towel on the season. Head coach Jim Tomsula remains confident the offense can get things worked out and while one more loss likely means the year is over, that does not mean the team is looking to sell the farm just yet. Last week the 49ers were facing trade speculation around both Colin Kaepernick and Vernon Davis before the season is over. However, that is not expected to happen.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Davis is expected to remain with the 49ers and play out the final year of his contract with the team. The tight end has just 109 yards in three games with the team as his production drops and injuries increase which means there is no market for Davis. If teams have not yet expressed interest in him, they certainly will not now. The trade deadline is not until after Week 8 so Davis has time to show he can be a threat for the rest of the year. However, his future beyond this season is unknown.