The San Francisco 49ers made a couple of roster moves Wednesday ahead of their Thursday night matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
Starting strong safety Talanoa Hufanga was placed on IR. Tight end Brayden Willis was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad in a corresponding move.
Hufanga tore ligaments in his wrist early in the 49ers’ Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He left the game in the first half and never returned.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in a press conference Tuesday that Hufanga would miss about a month with the injury. By going on IR he’ll now be required to miss four weeks before his 21-day practice window can be opened.
The earliest Hufanga can return is in Week 10 after the bye when the 49ers visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rookie fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha figures to start in his stead after taking over for him in Week 5.
Willis’s promotion is interesting and may indicate a change in plan for the 49ers on offense moving forward. Their run game has put up good box score numbers, but they’ve had more pass attempts than rush attempts this year and their ability to get into second or third-and-short has been diminished.
By bringing Willis up the 49ers may be planning on using more multiple TE sets to try and get their run game going. Willis is a good enough pass catcher that he may impact the game there as well if he’s continued improving on the 49ers’ practice squad.
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