SATURDAY: For a third straight year, Hurd will begin the season on the 49ers’ IR list. San Francisco is stashing the oft-injured wideout on IR, sidelining him for at least three games. While a return in Week 4 would be a bonus for Hurd, who has missed the first two seasons of his career, any IR placement qualifies as a bad sign for the Tennessee and Baylor alum at this point. The 49ers promoted cornerback Dontae Johnson to fill Hurd’s roster spot.
WEDNESDAY: It sounds like Jalen Hurd will miss the 49ers’ season opener. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that the third-year wide receiver is a candidate for the injured reserve thanks to a lingering knee injury.
“We felt pretty good (coming) out of the Raiders game just with how he was able to play and get through it,” Shanahan said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “But it was hurting him three days later when we tried to practice again. And we gave him the weekend off and it hurt again Monday. And just coming in here today and just realizing that we have to reevaluate this and shut him down for a little bit.”
The 2019 third-round pick still hasn’t seen the field for a regular season game thanks to injuries. That included an ACL tear that ruined his 2020 campaign, and knee tendinitis limited him during the early parts of the 2021 preseason. He finally got into the 49ers preseason finale, playing 29 snaps.
If Hurd is destined for injured reserve, the 49ers would likely look to add another wideout to the active roster. Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets that practice squad veteran Travis Benjamin is “the top candidate” to take Hurd’s spot.
Damn, that’s disappointing. There were some indicators that Hurd could be cut if he ends up missing more time this year. Hopefully for him and San Fran he ends up avoiding I.R.-he’s by far their biggest receiver and it would be disappointing to lose him again after the organization was clearly trying to find a way for him to contribute to their offense.
Time for an injury settlement and to move on from him. Unfortunate situation, but…this is a business and they have wasted enough time on him. Next up!!
Maybe it’s time he “moved on to life’s other work” as Chuck Noll was fond of saying.
a slight gust of wind came through the practice field, and now Jalen Hurd is on IR
Shocking
Not sure I’ve ever seen an NFL season START with so many players on injured reserve. Granted the rules concerning the IR have changed in recent years, but there are currently 178 players on Injured Reserve for the 2021 NFL season.
Well, the rules are also expanded this year (and last), with being able to designate players for return.
Will the Niners have enough players to field a team for their opener?
It does not bode well that a HURD is moved to IR !!
Wow. Super bummed for him. Wanted to see him break one