The 49ers got wide receiver Michael Crabtree back at practice last week for the first time since he injured his Achilles, a development that fell right in line with reports that he’d be ready to make his return from the physically unable to perform list in the middle of November.
Tuesday’s release of wide receiver Kyle Williams offered more reason to speculate about how close Crabtree might be to returning to action. Coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t answer that question specifically, but he did say that the team hasn’t made a decision about whether Crabtree would fill the roster spot left open with Williams’ departure.
“We’ll see. I’m not going to make any predictions today on who that is, but we’ve been encouraged with his progress and there’s other options as well,” Harbaugh said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
The 49ers may need to promote tight end Derek Carrier from the practice squad in the event that Vernon Davis and/or Garrett Celek can’t play this week, something that could impact a decision on Crabtree’s activation.