49ers OL Jon Feliciano To Land On Season-Ending IR; Dre Greenlaw To Practice

The 49ers expected Jon Feliciano back around the midseason point and had designated the veteran offensive lineman for return from IR earlier this month. No activation will take place, however.

Feliciano’s knee has not responded well upon a return to practice, Kyle Shanahan said, and ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner notes the O-lineman will miss the rest of the season. Feliciano will revert to season-ending IR, as the 49ers will not activate him after an IR-return window. Monday marked the 21-day mark since the window opened, forcing the 49ers to make a determination on Feliciano’s status.

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A starter in seven regular-season games and all three 49ers playoff contests, Feliciano suffered the knee injury during training camp. The 49ers waited to place him on IR until after setting their 53-man roster, so they will not lose one of their injury activations by shutting him down. The injury-plagued team — one that suited up without Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and Brock Purdy in Week 12 — still has four IR-return moves remaining. The Purdy-Bosa-Williams trio remains on the active roster, though Talanoa Hufanga is an IR-return candidate — if the All-Pro safety is healthy enough to come back.

Some good injury news for the 49ers did emerge Monday, however. As expected, the team is set to open Dre Greenlaw‘s 21-day return window, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweets. Greenlaw is set to practice for the first time since tearing an Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII. Greenlaw’s return also will not count against the 49ers’ activation total, as he is set to enter the PUP-return window.

Feliciano also went down during Super Bowl LVIII, and while his injury may well have contributed to Chris Jones‘ seminal third-down pressure to stop the 49ers’ opening overtime drive, it did not lead to this season’s absence. The 49ers have also found an answer at right guard. They turned to third-round rookie Dominick Puni due in part to Feliciano’s injury, and the Kansas alum has started opposite Aaron Banks throughout the season.

Now 32 and in his 10th year as an NFL blocker, Feliciano had hinted — upon re-signing with the 49ers (on a one-year, $2.75MM deal) in March — this would be his final NFL season. It is not yet known if the former Raiders, Bills and Giants interior lineman will change his mind based on the knee injury, but he will not factor into the 49ers’ plans this season. Feliciano, who has made 61 career starts and spent full seasons at both guard and center, was likely to represent solid swing depth had he returned this season.

Greenlaw obviously will be set for a much bigger role. The longtime Fred Warner sidekick has been a three-down linebacker with San Francisco for years, having signed a two-year, $16.4MM extension during the 2022 season. That pact goes through this season’s end, and Greenlaw will soon aim to secure a strong third contract. The 49ers are likely to slow-play the full-time defender’s ramp-up, but as the 5-6 team now faces the Bills after dropping a one-sided matchup to the Packers sans Purdy and Co., the risk of the defending NFC champions falling out of the playoff race is suddenly real.

Greenlaw, 27, coming back can benefit the 49ers’ defense, and it will be interesting to see when the team decides to activate him. His Super Bowl injury dealt the 49ers a cruel blow, as the player who was to be a key part of the team’s Travis Kelce defense effort stumbled to the turf upon trotting onto the field for a first-half defensive possession. Kelce proceeded to catch nine passes for 93 yards to help the Chiefs to an overtime conquest.

The 49ers already decided to extend one of their many contract-year starters, giving Deommodore Lenoir a five-year, $89.8MM deal, doing so months after paying Brandon Aiyuk. Greenlaw joins Banks, Hufanga and Charvarius Ward among core players not contracted for 2025. Although Greenlaw’s sixth NFL season will be abbreviated, a run at full strength over the final month and change — depending on when the 49ers activate him — would strengthen his 2025 market. The 49ers hold exclusive negotiating rights with Greenlaw until the legal tampering period begins March 10.