SF 49ers: 3 players who need to return after Week 11 bye

Injuries for the SF 49ers have been rampant and deep, and Niner Noise takes a look at key players who need to return after the Week 11 bye.

The saying across the NFL is especially true: For the SF 49ers, the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time.

Well, maybe they could have used it weeks ago. Or after every game since Week 2. But given the number of injuries the team has suffered this season, a week to recuperate and get ready for the final stretch of the season feels appropriate.

The list is long and includes players like edge rusher Nick Bosa, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, and tight end George Kittle, who are at best unlikely to see the field again in 2020. Others like cornerbacks Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and center Ben Garland are still in play, and how the first few post-bye games go might impact whether they return at all.

But if the 4-6 Niners have any chance of sneaking into the expanded playoff field for the 2020 season, they will need some influx of talent to return to the field in order for them to make some noise during their final six games.

And while it would be fantastic if the SF 49ers could get all of the 16 players currently on the injured reserve list back after Week 11, that’s just not within the realm of possibility.

There are, however, three especially vital players who will be essential to the Niners playoff push, if they are going to make one at all.