Lance remains limited with finger injury
Trey Lance wasn’t sporting a splint on his injured right index finger Monday, but the rookie quarterback still wasn’t throwing a football six days before the 49ers’ season opener at Detroit.
That, of course, wasn’t quite the progress the 49ers were hoping to see. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week they hoped the No. 3 pick could return to full practice Monday after he suffered a small chip of a bone in his finger during the preseason finale against the Raiders on Aug. 29. Lance, as he did during two practices last week, participated during individual drills Monday by practicing his dropback and footwork but not making throws. He did grip a football, which he did not do last week, during a drill near the start of practice.
The 49ers will return to practice Wednesday after a day off. Jimmy Garoppolo has been expected to be the starter, with Lance playing at least a handful of snaps. Garoppolo and Lance are the only two QBs on the active roster. The 49ers will promote quarterback Nate Sudfeld from the practice squad if Lance isn’t ready to play against the Lions.
Moseley sidelined: Starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who returned to practice last week from a hamstring injury, was sidelined again Monday. Moseley did run, not at full speed, on the side during practice.
It’s not known if Moseley’s absence before the season opener influenced the 49ers’ decision to sign cornerback Josh Norman, 33, on Sunday. The 49ers officially signed the nine-year veteran Monday and made room for him on the roster by releasing Dontae Johnson. The 49ers’ backup cornerbacks are Norman and rookie draft picks Ambry Thomas and Deommodore
Lenoir.
More injuries: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) returned to practice for the first time in more than week, but wideout Jalen Hurd was not observed during the early portion that was open to the media.
Hurd also was not seen during the 49ers’ previous practice Thursday. Hurd, who was limited throughout training camp because of a torn ACL he suffered last year, made his preseason debut in the finale against the Raiders and played 27 snaps. After the injuryplagued 2019 third-round pick made the 53-man roster last week, general manager John Lynch acknowledged the 49ers weren’t “100% ironclad” that Hurd would remain healthy.
In other injury news, defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) did not practice.
The 49ers will release their first injury report of the regular season Wednesday.