Jalen Hurd will lose a second straight NFL season to injury. Following the young wide receiver’s ACL tear, the 49ers placed him on IR Thursday.
The 49ers drafted Hurd in the 2019 third round, and the Baylor and Tennessee alum has flashed when healthy. But he will exit 2020 having played in zero of 32 regular-season games to start his career. A stress reaction in his back cost Hurd his 2019 season.
The 6-foot-4, 227-pound prospect displayed considerable versatility in college, converting from running back to wide receiver. He played ahead of Alvin Kamara in Tennessee’s backfield in 2015, rushing for 1,285 yards and 12 touchdowns. Upon transferring to Baylor, Hurd moved to wide receiver. He caught 69 passes for 946 yards as a senior with the Bears.
Kyle Shanahan is holding out hope Deebo Samuel can return by Week 1, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (on Twitter), but the fourth-year 49ers HC did not previously sound optimistic on that front. Samuel sustained a foot fracture in June. The 49ers have signed Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson and Jaron Brown over the past week.
I feel for him man dang
Yeah, this is awful for the young man. He was preparing for a break out year, and I was expecting him to break out as well. Shannahan had him looking like a legit weapon when he was healthy, so hopefully this will just be a minor bump in the road, and he can come back next season a full go!!
IMO, the injuries suffered are a direct result of his fame being unable to sustain his current weight when he’s moving.