The San Francisco 49ers will still be without two of their top wide receivers on Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks, Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garçon.
Garçon has been dealing with a knee injury, which held him out of the Niners' Week 12 loss on the road versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, Goodwin is dealing with a personal issue and also missed last week's contest.
"He's going through some serious things that have happened," head coach Kyle Shanahan said, regarding Goodwin, to reporters earlier this week. "I'd like to let him tell them and not me. Unless he tells me he wants me to. But, family concerns and things like that. Real stuff, and he's having a real tough time with it which is understandably so."
Goodwin and Garçon's absence opened up an opportunity for rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis to assume a more prominent role. He finished his Week 12 efforts with four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. One would expect Pettis to be a prominent figure in Shanahan's pass offense in Seattle -- a location where the 49ers haven't won since 2011.
Here is the total list of players inactive for Week 13:
- WR Marquise Goodwin
- WR Pierre Garçon
- DB D.J. Reed
- RB Alfred Morris
- OG Joshua Garnett
- OT Shon Coleman
- NT D.J. Jones
Rookie defensive back D.J. Reed suffered a heel injury in Week 12 and was ruled out for the contest as well. This will likely put fourth-year pro Antone Exum into the starting free safety spot with fellow defensive back Jimmie Ward (forearm) on injured reserve.
Running back Alfred Morris being inactive for the second straight week points to rookie tailback Jeff Wilson getting reps behind No. 1 running back Matt Breida, who is tied for second in the NFL with an average of 5.8 yards per carry. Breida and Co. will look to exploit a Seahawks defense that's allowing 5.3 yards per rush -- worst in the NFL heading into Week 13.
The 49ers and Seahawks kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET from CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
