Thomas did not return in the second half

The San Francisco 49ers’ comeback attempt fell short against the Tennesee Titans in their preseason opener. Although they seemed to escape without any serious injuries, that did not turn out to be the case.

After the game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that cornerback Ambry Thomas suffered a broken forearm and will be out indefinitely. Shanahan had no specific timetable for Thomas’s return other than, “It will be some time.”

The 49ers are set to have joint practices next week against the New Orleans Saints, and Shanahan said the team needs to figure out how they’ll work around that with the number of injuries they have.

He said 23 players were missing from the Niners’ last practice, so losing Thomas is a blow to the secondary’s depth. Shanahan did acknowledge that he expects several players back in time for next Thursday and Friday when the Niners have scheduled joint practices against New Orleans.

Thomas’s injury opens up another roster spot. Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir did not play on Saturday night. Isaac Yiadom has been the CB3 when the team goes into their sub-packages, but he missed the last week of practice. Perhaps that’s who Shanahan was hinting at as a potential return next week.