SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers had just one change to their injury report on Thursday, but it could be a meaningful one for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Tight end Vance McDonald participated in practice on a limited basis after sitting out the past two days with a hip injury. On Wednesday, coach Chip Kelly indicated McDonald's injury wasn't going to be long term and said the team would see how he progresses this week before making a call on whether he'd play this week.
Participating in Thursday's practice would seem to be a step in the right direction for a team that also has tight end Garrett Celek participating with a blue no-contact jersey as he deals with a back issue. Blake Bell is the only other tight end on the active roster.
"I think Garrett and Blake held up accordingly as they went in there, but obviously if you have someone like Vance, who’s what we believe is a really good tight end in this league, if he’s not available to us then that’s a concern,” Kelly said on Monday.
The Niners will have a walkthrough on Friday and issue their final injury report of the week when it's over.
Here's Thursday's full injury report:
Did not participate: CB Jimmie Ward (quadricep).
Limited participation: TE Garrett Celek (back), TE Vance McDonald (hip).
Full participation: DT Arik Armstead (shoulder), S Marcus Cromartie (ankle), CB Chris Davis (quadricep), DT Quinton Dial (knee), DT Glenn Dorsey (knee), DT Mike Purcell (ankle), CB Keith Reaser (ankle), WR Torrey Smith (foot), S Jaquiski Tartt (knee), G Andrew Tiller (ankle).
