The 49ers are on a redemption tour after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. A quartet of players on their roster are on something of a redemption tour of their own.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams, tight end Jordan Reed, wide receiver Trent Taylor and running back Jerick McKinnon should all suit up and play for San Francisco in Sunday’s season opener vs. the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium. As ESPN’s Nick Wagoner pointed out on Twitter, none of those four player have played a regular-season game in the last 600-plus days.
Williams and Taylor have both gone 623 days since they last played in the regular season. For Reed it’s been 644 days. McKinnon is at a whopping 966 days.
Both Williams and Taylor both played in their teams’ 2018 season finales. Williams went on to miss all of 2019 due to a cancerous growth on his skull. Taylor suffered a Jones fracture before the first preseason game last year and wound up missing the entire season.
Reed was active for Washington’s Week 14 game in 2018, but a toe strain in that Week 14 contest sidelined him for the rest of the year. He was on track to return last season before a concussion – his seventh – in a preseason game vs. the Falcons forced him to sit out the season.
McKinnon’s story is a familiar one for 49ers fans. He signed with San Francisco before the 2018 season to be a focal point of their offense. A torn ACL a week before the regular season was set to begin ended his year. Complications with that surgically repaired ACL in last year’s training camp required another surgery that ended his 2019 campaign. He hasn’t played since Week 17 of the 2017 season.
Now all four are aiming for a different story this year. They’re all fully healthy and went through training camp without any major issues. If Williams, Taylor, Reed and McKinnon can stay healthy and effective this season – they’ll get their redemption while working as vital pieces in the 49ers quest for their own.
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