Another Rookie Injures Knee During 49ers' Joint Practice with Raiders

Absolutely eviscerated a Raiders defense that isn't nearly as good as the Broncos defense the 49ers faced last week. Granted, the Raiders defense lacks talent and is running one of the most outdated schemes in the NFL -- thank you, Pete Carroll. After practice, George Kittle said the Raiders were running the same stuff that the Seahawks ran 10 years ago. And Kyle Shanahan knew how to beat that stuff back then. You'd think Carroll would have evolved, but he hasn't, and Purdy made him pay.

2. Running back Christian McCaffrey

Was targeted lots of times by Purdy because so many wide receivers are injured. It's definitely smarter to throw the ball to McCaffrey than some backup such as Russell Gage or Robbie Chosen. I expect McCaffrey to have a big season catching the ball.

3. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk

Currently is the fourth option in the 49ers' passing game due to so many injuries at wide receiver, and today he made a nice 20-yard catch up the right sideline. Juszczyk actually is a solid receiver when the 49ers throw him the ball, which isn't often. They prefer to use him as the league's worst decoy.

4. Tight end George Kittle

Has established himself as by far the best receiver on the team and the No. 1 target in the offense. The 49ers tried to force Ricky Pearsall into that role the past couple weeks, but he simply isn't as good as Kittle, who is a go-to guy. Pearsall is more of a complementary receiver. Kittle is a future Hall of Famer and the best tight end in the league, even better than Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

5. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing

Suddenly, he's one of the few healthy wide receivers on the team after missing the first three weeks of camp with a hamstring injury. Today, he made a diving catch near the sideline on a pass thrown by Purdy. At this rate, Cowing might have to start Week 1 against the Seahawks.

6. Nickelback Chase Lucas

Played every snap of practice because he was the only healthy nickelback, which isn't fair to him. Also, the 49ers are one injury away from having zero nickelbacks, so you think they'd be more cautious with Lucas, but what choice do they have other than cancelling practice entirely? Today, Lucas intercepted a pass that a wide receiver dropped. He's having an outstanding offseason.

7. Cornerback Jakob Robinson

Broke up a pass thrown by Aiden O'Connell during 11-on-11 team drills. Robinson needs to add about 10 pounds of muscle, but once he does, he will be a quality starting cornerback in the NFL. I'm calling it now.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Defensive tackle CJ West

Left practice early with a hyperextended knee. The 49ers have so many injured defensive linemen, the ones who are healthy have to play extra reps during practice, and the extra workload seems to be leading to injuries. Which means the 49ers' injury issue is snowballing out of control. Players go down, which forces other players to practice more, which leads to more players going down. The preseason can't end soon enough for this team. They're limping toward the regular season.

2. Offensive tackle Andre Dillard

The 49ers signed Dillard this offseason to be Trent Williams' backup. Then, Dillard missed OTAs, minicamp and the first two weeks of training camp and the preseason opener against the Broncos. This week, the 49ers activated him, and he practiced twice -- on Monday and Tuesday. Apparently, he injured his ankle, and now he's out for the season. I, for one, will remember the Dillard Era fondly. I wonder who will play Dillard in the movie about his remarkable tenure with the 49ers.

3. Offensive tackle Spencer Burford

Started at left tackle and got beaten by everyone and anyone he faced. This poor man is going to have to play regular-season snaps at left tackle eventually, and he will not perform well, because he's a guard, and not a particularly good one. The 49ers don't have a legitimate backup offensive tackle on their roster.

4. Defensive end Nick Bosa

Missed yet another practice with what the 49ers are calling "neck soreness." Bosa has practiced just once in the past two weeks, so his neck must be really sore. This is an injury to monitor. The 49ers are notorious when it comes to downplaying injuries to key players, and Bosa was injured for half of last season.

5. Guard Ben Bartch

Missed his second practice in a row with an elbow injury. The 49ers say it isn't serious, but what is serious is how frequently Bartch goes down. He's not durable enough to be a starter. I predict that rookie Connor Colby will start more games at left guard this season than Bartch will.

6. Safety Jason Pinnock

Missed his second practice in a row with what the 49ers are calling a heel injury, which doesn't sound alarming. But the heel is connected to the Achilles, so this is something to monitor. Pinnock's backup, Ji'Ayir Brown, is a significant downgrade.

7. Nickelback Upton Stout

Missed his third practice in a row with a calf injury. Considering all the soft-tissue injuries the 49ers players have suffered in camp this offseason, you'd think they'd change their stretching routine. Because both the Raiders and Broncos do static stretching before practice, while the 49ers do not. Instead, they do dynamic stretches only, and those don't seem to be working well enough.

8. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir

Gave up three touchdown catches today -- one to Brock Bowers and two to Tre Tucker, whom I've never heard of. It seems Raiders quarterback Geno Smith went out of his way to target Lenoir -- those two might have history from when Smith played for the Seahawks. Lenoir likes to talk crap, and so does Smith.

9. Linebacker Luke Gifford

He's the biggest liabilty in coverage on the 49ers' defense. Any time the Raiders needed a completion, they called a play-action pass in his direction, and he was lost. The 49ers need to find a replacement for him. He's a special teams player.

10. Kicker Jake Moody

Missed a 55-yard field goal attempt wide right. So, he's in midseason form.

THE FINAL TAKEAWAYS

1. The following defensive linemen currently are injured: Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, CJ West, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, Sam Okuayinonu and Robert Beal. I don't know how the 49ers are going to play a preseason game in two days. They don't have enough bodies.

2. The 49ers and Raiders played a joint practice against each other two years ago. Back then, the 49ers had a Super-Bowl caliber roster, and it showed. This time, they looked only marginally better than the Raiders.

3. Kyle Shanahan said he intends to play the starters a bit on Saturday. Let's see how many are actually healthy enough to suit up.