Update: The San Francisco 49ers announced on Thursday that the team has officially activated wide receiver Richie James from the active/non-football injury list.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network on Wednesday delivered some good San Francisco 49ers news on the injury front. He reported that the team would likely be getting back wide receiver Richie James ahead of schedule.
James suffered a broken wrist in June and was expected to start the regular season on the non-football injury (NFI) list, forcing the receiver to miss part of the season. Garafolo reported that James is expected to be cleared in advance of the 49ers' Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the 49ers plan to remove James from the NFI list today.
#49ers WR Richie James will be coming off the non-football injury list today, says league source.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 3, 2020
That could be a boost for an injury-plagued wide receiver group. The team lost second-year wideout Jalen Hurd (ACL) for the season. The team could start getting healthy as Week 1 approaches, though. Head coach Kyle Shanahan continues to express optimism that Deebo Samuel (foot) and Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) will both be available for the team's first game on September 13.
James is a significant contributor on special teams. He was the team's leading kick returner last season, averaging 21.4 yards on his 20 returns. The receiver also led the team in punt returns with 264 yards on 33 returns (8.0-yard average).