49ers’ Trent Williams, Ricky Pearsall Jr. questionable for Eagles; Williams more likely to play

SANTA CLARA — Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall Jr. were among the players listed as questionable Friday before the 49ers departed for Philadelphia and their wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field.

But some players are more questionable than others, and it appeared as if Williams was the more likely of the two to give it a go Sunday in the NFC wild card playoff game (Fox, 1:30 p.m)

Also listed as questionable for the 49ers were linebacker Luke Gifford (quad), edge rusher Keion White (hamstring), Dee Winters (ankle), Jacob Cowing (hamstring) and cornerback Renardo Green (ankle). Williams, Green and White were limited participants in the get-away practice.

Williams responded “we’ll see” regarding his availability but said he feels much better than he did when he sat out a 13-3 Week 18 loss to Seattle.

During the brief media practice window, Williams went through warmups with his teammates, then left for the field house/weight area when the offensive lineman began going through drills with line coach Chris Foerster.

Williams re-emerged from the field house and was running lightly on the side with a member of the training staff watching closely. Pearsall did not practice or speak with the media.

Williams’ impact on the bottom line is hard to refute. Injured on the first play of the Chicago game, he missed his first game of the season in Week 18 against Seattle.

The first-ever hamstring strain for Williams came when pursuing T.J. Edwards, who intercepted Brock Purdy’s first pass of the game and returned it for a touchdown.

“I’ve never had a little hamstring,” Williams said. “When I felt it, I kept running because I didn’t exactly know what it was and then as I started to slow down it kind of started to get a little more consistent.”

While backup Austin Pleasants fared well at left tackle in an emergency role against the Bears, he had a much rougher time against the Seahawks. The 49ers gained just 179 yards of total offense and their point total was the lowest since Shanahan’s debut, a 23-3 loss to Carolina in Week 1 in 2017.

Noticeably absent in the 49ers running game without Williams was getting to the edge on outside corner runs. Nothing in practice can prepare Williams for the strain of an actual playoff game.

“It’s always going to be a little bit of a concern,” Williams said. “I’m obviously pushing the limits on the time that’s required for it, so it’ll probably be in the back of my mind. But once you get out there just to get the flow of adrenaline, I don’t think it should be a bigger problem.”

Williams has had enough nagging injuries that he hasn’t played a full season since 2013 in Washington, when the season was 16 games, the head coach was Mike Shanahan and the offensive coordinator was Kyle Shanahan.

In the 17 regular-season games Williams has missed, they are 4-13 and scoring 15.9 points per game. In the games Williams has played, the 49ers are 55-29 and averaging 28.1.

Granted, that includes a 1-6 stretch last year when Williams was dealing with a slow-to-heal ankle injury and 49ers were in such a bad way it may not have mattered much had Williams been available

Randy Cross, a CBS analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion under Bill Walsh with the 49ers, believes Williams’ impact runs through the whole roster.

“Besides the obvious that you’re missing your alpha bear, the guy anyone in their right mind wants no part of, when you’re in the huddle, the sideline or the locker room and the tunnel coming out, there’s a confidence of having a guy like that with you,” Cross said this week on KNBR-680.

Cross likens it to the star-studded cast that were teammates for three Super Bowl titles.

“People talk about what it was like to be in the huddle with Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott. What it was like to have Jerry Rice,” Cross said. “I know he’s an offensive lineman, but Trent is one of those dudes. He affects everybody. And not just on his side of the ball. Having him around is a gigantic way to have the attitude you’re going to need to win this game in this environment.”

With Tatum Bethune on injured reserve and done for the year, Eric Kendricks will start as the middle linebacker, flanked by some combination of Garret Wallow, Curtis Robinson. Practice squad players who could be promoted are new acquisition Kyzir White, Andrew Farmer II and Jalen Graham.

The Eagles listed three players as questionable: right tackle Lane Johnson (foot), linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) and guard Brett Toth (concussion). Fully participating in Friday’s practice were defensive tackle Jalen Carter (hip), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), safety Marcus Epps (concussion), and linebackers Jaelan Phillips (ankle) and Nakobe Dean (hamstring).

Philly flashbacks

There was no shortage of hard feelings (and maybe some sour grapes) when the 49ers lost 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game following the 2022 season when Haason Reddick sacked Purdy and tore the UCL in his right elbow.

The 49ers stored that emotion and exploded on the Eagles the following season, scoring touchdowns on six straight possession for a 42-19 win that may have been the zenith of Shanahan’s career as a regular-season coach.

“Two completely different outcomes,” tight end George Kittle said. “They whipped up on us the first time and we did it the next year. I try not to think back too much or hold grudges or it clouds your judgement and you’re thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter.”

Instead of sniping at one another from a distance in the media, the Eagles and 49ers have approached Sunday’s game as one built on mutual respect.

“Any time you play as well as we did in that game, it should be fun,” Williams said. “There’s a little history there, but in my mind it’s kind of died down a little bit. That was a few years ago, but it’s still going to be an electric environment going into the belly of the beast.”

Eagles defensive tackle Brandon Graham took a moment to pay respect to Purdy while talking with reporters.

“We’ve got so much respect for him because he’s a  grinder,” Graham said. “He grinded into a 100 million dollar man and I’m loving that for him. I’m just excited to compete against him.”

NOTABLE

— The Atlanta Falcons announced they interviewed 49ers’ director of scouting and operations for their “president of football” post. The Falcons are restructuring their front office and are expected to hire former quarterback Matt Ryan in a prominent role.Williams was also a candidate in Miami, which hired Jon-Eric Sullivan.

Josh Williams, the 49ers’ director of scouting and operations, interviewed Friday for the Atlanta Falcons’ president of football post. He also was a candidate for the Miami Dolphins’ general manager job that went to Jon-Eric Sullivan.