Sherman cleared to play Saturday vs. Rams

The San Francisco 49ers will have a key defensive contributor back in the lineup for their divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.

Pro Bowl corner Richard Sherman will be available for Week 16 and has been removed from the team's injury report, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic.

Sherman missed San Francisco's Week 15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons after picking up a hamstring injury in the previous week's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Shanahan initially believed the hamstring strain would sideline Sherman for the rest of the regular season. Instead, the 49ers' top cover corner will be available as they try to vault back to the top of the NFC West and a top-two seed in the conference.

San Francisco and the Seattle Seahawks have identical 11-3 records, but the Seahawks own the tiebreaker with their head-to-head victory over the 49ers in Week 10.