Richard Sherman working hard to return for 49ers-Saints, possibly Rams game

The San Francisco 49ers opened the practice window for cornerback Richard Sherman on Wednesday. That means the team has 21 days to activate him off of injured reserve.

Sherman, however, is working to be ready to go this weekend against the New Orleans Saints.

The 10-year veteran told The Athletic that the hope is a return on Sunday. If that doesn't happen, Sherman fully expects to be ready to go on November 29 against the Los Angeles Rams — the team's next game after the Saints and after the bye week.

"In a message to The Athletic, Sherman said that he's working hard to potentially return this weekend against the Saints," wrote David Lombardi of The Athletic, "but he added that he's eyeing a return for the Nov. 29 game against the Rams as a worst-case scenario. The 49ers have a bye after the New Orleans game and before heading to Los Angeles."

Sherman hasn't played since Week 1 when he suffered a calf strain. He is in the final year of the three-year deal he signed with San Francisco in 2018.

General manager John Lynch recently expressed optimism surrounding the timeline for Sherman's return.

"With Sherm, we are (hopeful)," Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area, "and I'm keeping my fingers crossed because this has been a stubborn one coming back from. And I think he had a setback at some point.

"They did another procedure, some sort of injection, where they put some sort of fluid in there that they told us, 'Hey, doing this is going to take some time. You've got to allow it to take root and then build him back up.'"

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said last month that he did not expect Sherman to return before the bye week. So, a return this weekend would beat that expectation.

"It's obviously going a little longer than we expected," Shanahan said on October 21. "Got to play it smart with him."