SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ As he has for the last several days, 49ers running back Carlos Hyde took non-contact reps with the offensive unit Thursday but it still remains to be seen if he'll be active and available for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Hyde, who has a shoulder injury suffered in Week 6, was not active for last Sunday's game against New Orleans even though he participated in similar drills. Coach Chip Kelly said Hyde is moving well, but it's still too early to determine whether he's ready to return to action and Kelly wouldn't hazard a guess.
"To be honest with you, he looks the same way he did last week," Kelly said. "He's running around, but the difference is he's in a blue jersey, so there's no contact. From my understanding, it's about how he can handle contact but you can't hit him right now."
Kelly reiterated that a determination on Hyde probably won't be made until Friday or Saturday when the back is reevaluated by team doctors.
"He looks like he has range of motion, but it's probably a better question for him than me," Kelly said.
Hyde has played in six of the team's eight games and has rushed for 429 yards on 109 carries (3.9 average) with six touchdowns. If he is unable to play, the 49ers will likely give the bulk of the running load to DuJuan Harris, who carried 10 times for 59 yards against the Saints but also caught five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
