The San Francisco 49ers announced Saturday that safety Jimmie Ward and cornerbacks Dontae Johnson and K'Waun Williams have been activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list, while cornerback Emmanuel Moseley has been activated from injured reserve after being sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
The team also activated two players from the practice squad in linebacker Mark Nzeocha and recently-added cornerback Darqueze Dennard. In addition, linebacker Curtis Robinson was activated from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement.
The 49ers now have a more complete secondary than they did earlier in the week, when Johnson, Williams, Ward, and cornerbacks Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Thomas was activated on Friday, while no moves have been announced regarding Lenoir.
Also of note: No moves were made regarding practice squad quarterback Nate Sudfeld, which means the 49ers are prepared to head into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams with Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance as their quarterbacks. Garoppolo missed last week's 23-7 win over the Houston Texans with a thumb injury but now appears medically cleared to play and may return to the starting lineup on Sunday.
49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans told reporters on Thursday that the defensive backs who were on the COVID list were still participating in meetings and would be ready to play if cleared.
"The best part about it is we've had all our meetings virtual," Ryans said. "So all those guys have been in the meetings. They understand the game plan. So our guys, they've been locked in mentally. The guys who are on that list, they've played a lot of ball for us, so they understand our scheme, what we're trying to do defensively. Those guys, we'll be grateful to have them back as soon as we can get them back, but I think there won't be any mental hurdles for our guys. They'll be able to plug right back in and get out there and help us."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan commented on Moseley's progress in a media session on Friday.
"I thought he had a good week," Shanahan said. "We really only go full speed on Thursday, which guys like him, [LB Dre] Greenlaw, [LB] Azeez [Al-Shaair], guys who haven't had a chance to do it for a little bit, you'd like to go full speed for them all three days. But with where the team's at, you can't do that. So I was excited about him on Thursday, had a good walkthrough today, so I feel good about him being ready this week."
