More difficult news for the 49ers on the injury front. WR1 Deebo Samuel suffered a broken foot earlier this week and is unlikely to be ready for the start of the regular season, and now Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports that fellow wideout Richie James has suffered a broken wrist (Twitter link).
James will be sidelined for at least two months, so his availability for Week 1 is also in doubt. And while he is not nearly as important to the 49ers’ offense as Samuel is — James has appeared in less than 20% of the club’s offensive snaps over his first two years in the league and has just 15 catches for 295 yards and two TDs in that time — he has served as San Francisco’s primary kick and punt returner.
In 2019, he averaged eight yards per punt return and 21.4 yards per kick return. Those numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page, but they’re not bad either. If James is forced to miss time, Dante Pettis or Trent Taylor may get a crack at return duties.
The 49ers selected James in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. His injury comes at an especially unfortunate time, as he may have had an outside chance at more training camp reps at WR given Samuel’s absence.
was this in throwing practice too?
Not sure. Garafolo simply said he injured it “while training.”
why all the bad injuries just now?
Yeah, it is crazy weird, especially it being broken bones in player’s hands and feet.
I fully expected to see quite a few hamstring injuries, muscle strains, or even possible muscle tears, but I’m curious as to why guys are suddenly getting these injuries!?!
Any guesses out there??
Workers comp
This is terrible news for James though. Not only did he just ruin any extra reps he would have received during practices and camp, but he is also likely now going to lose his grasp of the return duties.
If Shanahan had seen growth from James as a receiver, that likely would have been enough to justify keeping him as their return man. He was already attempting to grow further as an offensive weapon, and even showed some growth last season. When James was able to get the ball in his hands, he made things happen. He really needed this off-season though to grow his on the field chemistry with Jimmy G, and to prove himself to his coach.
With this news now though, his return duties are likely going to go to either Pettis, Taylor, or especially a new challenge like Jamychal Hasty.
Quite a few writers have previously written that Hasty already has Kyle Shannahan’s attention and his intrigue, but now that a spot has opened up, it could be enough of a reason for Shannahan to give Hasty a true shot.
Some were already projecting that Hasty was going to unseat Coleman or McKinnon as one of the 49ers 3 RBs, and that he could even take over as their 3DRB. Shannahan made Hasty a priority UDFA immediately after the draft because of Hasty’s extreme versatility and the fact he was one of the better receiving RBs coming out.
The 49ers already drafted Aiyuk and Jennings, but the depth chart at the WR position has only grown more crowded since Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd are both back and healthy. That adds four more bodies all already ahead of James on the depth chart, and with him now injured, yeeeaaah…That is awful news for James’ chances of sticking with the 49ers.
Richie James is a talented player, and another team will undoubtedly pick him up. He could certainly thrive on a receiver needy team. Maybe now he might get his chance elsewhere, but it looks like the writing is on the wall now with latest bit of news..
James could already immediately come onto several teams and improve their return game, but if he is given the chance, I think James could also come on and help someone as a useful and productive third/fourth option..