The San Francisco 49ers are trying to gain some kind of momentum behind quarterback Blaine Gabbert, but injuries could hurt the effort going forward. The team is fresh off a win over the Atlanta Falcons and a bye week, but that did not help the health of certain players. While the 49ers did get Anquan Boldin back at practice on Wednesday, Carlos Hyde is a mystery.
According to head coach Jim Tomsula via the team website, both Boldin and Hyde were expected to practice on Wednesday. However, only Boldin made it out as he nurses a hamstring injury. Hyde continues to deal with a stress fracture in his left foot that is leaving his status for Sunday in doubt right now.
"None of those guys have gone full speed," Tomsula said, via ESPN.com. "Nobody has done anything full tilt yet." We're going to see where [Hyde's] at and see how it's going. He's obviously been doing things for conditioning. He's not running a ton, but we'll see where he's at this week. He's feeling better with all those things but, again, you don't know until you play. You've got to make some cuts and get moving on it."
If Hyde cannot get on the field, the run game is a bit of a mystery for the 49ers heading into Week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks. With Reggie Bush and Mike Davis out of the picture, Shaun Draughn is expected to get the starting nod. Behind him would likely be the newly signed Travaris Cadet who replaced Pierre Thomas. That is not the ideal run game against the Seahawks which could force Gabbert to throw more times than not. That is where having Boldin back will be helpful along with the ride of Quinton Patton and Garrett Celek. According to Gabbert all he is thinking about right now is his next start.
I think the biggest think for me is I focus on this upcoming game, and that's how I approached last week. You really can't get too far ahead of yourself, especially in the situation that we're in," Gabbert said, via ESPN.com. "I'm focused on going out to practice today and having a good day and then really focus on the game this Sunday. Whatever happens after that will happen."
With Colin Kaepernick's future in doubt with the franchise, Gabbert is trying to prove that he can be the man for the job. Several NFL sources believe that Kaepernick is likely to be traded or released thanks to his team-friendly contract the 49ers gave him. If Gabbert can continue to find success and keep the quarterback off the field, the trade talk will follow.
