After Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, the San Francisco 49ers begin a stretch of five games in which they will face NFC West opponents four times.
No doubt that gauntlet of divisional matchups will be critical in determining the team’s fate this season. Fortunately for the 49ers, they could be getting some reinforcements at just the right time.
San Francisco has three players who are eligible to return to practice as early as next Tuesday: Jerome Simpson (suspension), Daniel Kilgore (leg injury) and DeAndre Smelter (ACL surgery).
Simpson, who is in the final week of a six-week ban for legal troubles that predated his offseason signing with the 49ers, caught three passes for 40 yards in the preseason.