Getty Emmanuel Moseley breaks up a pass on Marvin Jones during the 49ers' November 21 road win at Jacksonsville.
The San Francisco 49ers could welcome back two key defenders soon, who were originally facing the possibility of having their entire season wiped away.
How soon? Before the regular season officially ends.
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Head coach Kyle Shanahan provided updates to the Bay Area media on 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and linebacker Dre Greenlaw on Monday, December 27, and the news involving the two injured defensive players came with a voice of optimism from Shanahan that both will return before the NFL postseason.
Moseley Took Part in Light Workouts on Monday
Shanahan said Moseley, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the Sunday, December 5, road loss at Seattle, is hopeful that he will be back on defense for the Week 18 showdown in Inglewood against the Los Angeles Rams, telling reporters via 49ers Web Zone “we’re hoping E-man has a chance next week.”
There are encouraging signs of Moseley indeed making a return to shoulder pads and helmet. Via Matt Barrows of The Athletic, there was a Moseley sighting doing drills at the 49ers’ practice facility in Santa Clara.
“A good sign for the 49ers: Emmanuel Moseley (high ankle) was running with other rehabbing players at the start of practice. It wasn’t a full sprint by any means, but at least making progress,” was what Barrows tweeted at practice.
Before his ankle sprain, Moseley was beginning to put together a Pro Bowl caliber year. He cracked the starting lineup at cornerback in Week 3 and didn’t surrender a single touchdown his side throughout the season.
In his absence, rookie Ambry Thomas took over. Thomas had a relatively rough start: Surrendering touchdowns in back-to-back weeks against Cincinnati and Atlanta plus allowing more than 23 yards a catch his side the last three games according to Pro Football Focus. However, Thomas has shown signs of growth and composure in recent weeks — particularly from the Tennessee Titans loss on Thursday, December 23.
Ambry Thomas is slowly getting better…
• 5 targets
• 2 catches allowed
• 46 yards
• 2 pass breakups
• 0 touchdowns
I’m sure everyone will point to the deep ball that AJ Brown came down with, but AJ clearly pushed off to create separation. #49ers
Ambry Thomas’ third start:
* 2 catches given up
* 5 targets
* 2 PBUs
* 46 yards total (42 on one play)
Thomas definitely showing development week to week, especially playing against one of the better WRs in the game. Good for the rook.
Thomas will likely see more action on Sunday, January 2 against a Houston Texans team led by a fellow member of the 2021 rookie class in quarterback Davis Mills.
Dre Greenlaw Update
The 49ers have been without Greenlaw since the season opening road win over the Detroit Lions.
Greenlaw injured his groin and, according to the 49ers team website on November 18, was originally supposed to miss 6-8 weeks of action but took longer than expected.
However, there’s the new possibility that Greenlaw will finally see some action.
“Yeah, Greenlaw’s been in the same boat where we’re really trying to get this pain to go away. We’re not going to rule out this week yet, but I have more hope for next week,” Shanahan said via SB Nation’s Niners Nation.
Before his injury, the 24-year-old from the University of Arkansas tallied six tackles including four solo in the 41-33 win over Detroit. In his first two seasons in the league, the 6-foot, 230-pounder collected 92 stops and 64 solo his rookie year then followed with 86 tackles with 61 solo stops his second season according to Pro Football Reference.
But by being inserted back into the defense, it’ll help offset the loss of Azeez Al-Shaair, who has been dealing with a knee sprain and is not expected to return in these final two games.
#49ers LB Azeez Al-Shaair has a knee sprain and is expected to miss at least the final two games of the regular season.
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49ers Could Welcome Back 2 Injured Defenders by Season’s End