The 49ers may get healthy just in time for the toughest portion of their schedule. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey on Wednesday told reporters that he’s eyeing a November 11 return at home against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football per Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. McGlinchey had arthroscopic surgery on his knee before the team’s Week 6 game in Los Angeles.
That Seahawks game kicks off a brutal stretch of games for San Francisco. They face Seattle at home for Week 10, then host the Cardinals and Packers, travel to Baltimore and New Orleans in back-to-back weeks, and finish up at home vs. the Rams and at Seattle.
Those seven games could decide whether the 49ers make the postseason or not. It will also show how formidable they may be in the playoffs.
Their performance against the Rams in Week 6 showed how difficult it’ll be to consistently move the ball without McGlinchey, left tackle Joe Staley, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Staley broke his fibula in Week 2, while Juszczyk sprained his MCL in Week 5.
Biderman also tweeted that Staley should be back by the Seattle game, with the potential to return earlier.
The 49ers are in Washington on Sunday before coming home to play the Panthers in Week 8, and the Cardinals for Week 9 on Thursday Night Football.
Juszczyk is expected to miss four-to-six weeks. A four-week timetable would put him back in the lineup for that Week 10 game against Seattle.
If the 49ers are back at full capacity by the time they open that stretch that starts at home against Green Bay, they’ll be in a great position to make a playoff push. They may even be vying for a first-round bye depending on how many games they can win in the meantime.
