Much of the San Francisco 49ers mid-season boost is coming from inside the building. The team started the week by opening up the practice windows for offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and running back Christian McCaffrey, and on Wednesday, they did the same for defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos, who landed on the Injured Reserve list due to a knee injury before San Francisco’s Week 5 match versus the Arizona Cardinals.
He adds depth to a defensive line that lost veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave early in the year due to a season-ending triceps injury. Gross-Matos has the ability to work in both at defensive end and the interior of the line, so his return from IR would be a significant one for the 49ers defensive unit.
Joining him on the D-line is San Francisco’s most recent acquisition, Khalil Davis. The fifth-year pro comes to The Bay via a trade with the Houston Texans at the NFL’s trade deadline. In exchange for Davis, the 49ers sent a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Texans. In 2024, Davis has appeared in nine games and registered nine tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
Additional roster moves from Wednesday included the signings of safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. and wide receiver Russell Gage to the practice squad. Gipson Sr. is a familiar face in San Francisco. He was briefly signed to the practice squad in 2022 before serving as a starting safety for the team for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“(We) just want to see where he’s at,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “With him having the suspension and then him being with Jacksonville (Jaguars), he was always someone we were looking to, in the offseason, to bring here. Then, he ended up getting with Jacksonville and we’re glad that he is not there.
“We knew as soon as that wouldn’t be the case, we wanted to get him here if it worked out for him with some of the injuries that we have. It was awesome to be able to get him and be available for the practice squad, and we’ll get to see him practice this week and we’ll play it from there.”
McCaffrey’s availability for Sunday’s matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is still unknown, but health wise it’s so far so good with the 49ers star running back. Monday marked his first practice back since being placed on IR prior to the season opener.
“Yeah, he was good,” Shanahan said. “We didn’t do too much, but he had no pain. It was good yesterday, and we’re excited to get him out there today.”
McCaffrey was a limited participant in Wednesday’s workout as was wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., who is working through a wrist injury. Samuel Sr. was practicing in a blue non-contact jersey.
