The San Francisco 49ers’ injury report was on the lighter side on Wednesday. Edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and wide receiver Jordan Watkins (ankle) were the only two players who didn’t participate. Those two were back at practice on Thursday. According to reporters who were on hand, every player on the 49ers’ active 53-man roster was on the field in uniform and practicing in some capacity while the media was allowed to watch.

Watkins being able to practice should be viewed as a significant development. We hadn’t received any updates about the 49ers’ fourth-round rookie in quite some time. He’s been sidelined since August 11 with the dreaded high-ankle sprain:

That does not look like a player who is moving gingerly or playing it safe while nursing an injury. Even if Watkins can’t go this Sunday — it is his first practice in nearly a month — it’s a sign that he’s closer to returning than missing another game. Watkins is a significant upgrade over Skyy Moore, Russell Gage, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. We saw Watkins’ explosiveness early on in the preseason.

Knowing that Kyle Shanahan likes his players to get a whole week of practice under their belt before playing in a game, I wouldn’t expect to see Watkins, Gross-Matos, or rookie running back Jordan James active Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

Kyle’s update, 4:51 p.m. PT: The 49ers released their injury report, and running back Christian McCaffrey was listed as limited with a calf injury.

Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
Jordan James (finger)
Jauan Jennings (calf)
Christian McCaffrey (calf)
Dominick Puni (knee)
Jordan Watkins (ankle)

Obviously, you don’t want to speculate on any potential setbacks. But after what happened last year, when everything appeared full go for McCaffrey heading into Week 1 and he ended up missing two months, how can you not?

It would be easier to shrug off if McCaffrey was listed all week, and the coaching staff had mentioned that they were being careful with McCaffrey, but that hasn’t been the case. Thursday is the first time McCaffrey was listed on the injury report.

I know not everybody feels this way, but there are people out there who aren’t credentialed or around the team who know people inside the building. More of than not, they know more than the folks covering the team daily. According to this user, who has been pretty spot on, Christian McCaffrey left practice early:

That’s relatively good news.