The 49ers were without two of their five tight ends in Saturday’s practice. Ross Dwelley, last year’s No. 2 TE, missed the session with a foot injury. DJ Jones was also out, but he did receive good news about the shoulder injury that forced him to leave Friday’s practice early.
Dwelley was a key player for the 49ers last year because of his versatility as a blocker. When fullback Kyle Juszczyk went down, Dwelley took on fullback duties. He also slotted into the starting TE role for two games when George Kittle was out.
The 49ers are already pretty thin at tight end after releasing Daniel Helm and with Jordan Reed still doing individual work before entering full practices. Losing Dwelley for an extended period would be a tough blow for San Francisco’s offense.
He’s not much of a factor as a pass catcher, but he’s valuable as a blocker. He’s also the most experienced player at the position behind Kittle. Sixth-round pick Charlie Woerner and undrafted rookie Chase Harrell are their only other options with Dwelley and Reed out of practice.
Jones’ MRI on his shoulder came back clean, which is good news for the 49ers’ starting nose tackle. He was driven to the ground on a goal line play late in Friday’s practice and left with a shoulder injury. While his shoulder is healthy, he was put into concussion protocol and will have to clear that before returning to practice.
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