Tag: Jalen Hurd

WR Jalen Hurd could be headed back to Injured Reserve

Another IR stint could be in the cards for #49ers WR Jalen Hurd who continues working his way back from a torn ACL last season.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday said wide receiver Jalen Hurd is a candidate to land on Injured Reserve as he continues working his way back from a torn ACL last season.

Hurd was absent from Wednesday’s practice, and Shanahan said the receiver is still experiencing some pain in his knee after playing 27 offensive snaps and two special teams snaps in the preseason finale against the Raiders.

“Yeah, we felt pretty good going out of the Raiders game with just how long he was able to play and get through it,” Shanahan said. “But, it was hurting him three days later when we tried to practice again and gave him the weekend off and it was hurting again Monday and just coming in here today just realizing that we’ve got to re-evaluate this and shut him down for a little bit.”

Sporadic participation defined Hurd’s training camp this year after missing virtually all of camp last year when he tore his ACL early on. The 49ers gave him days off to ensure he’d be ready for Week 1, and he did enough in the last preseason game to land a spot on the 53-man roster.

An IR stint makes a lot of sense for the 2019 third-round pick. It’s a minimum of three weeks off that’ll allow him to recover and try to get in playing shape. Going on IR would vacate a roster spot the 49ers could conceivably use on practice squad WR Travis Benjamin, who could also solve their punt returner problem.

There’s been no official move yet, and the team may wait until after Week 1 to see how his knee is responding before making any changes to the roster, but for now it appears to make the most sense to shut him down for a few weeks to ensure he can get right and contribute at some point later in the season.

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Latest Jalen Hurd injury puts 49ers in almost impossible spot

Jalen Hurd’s latest injury makes the wide receiver’s already unclear future with the #49ers even murkier.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan gave an update on Jalen Hurd that makes the third-year wide receiver’s future with the club more unclear than ever. Figuring out how to proceed with Hurd could become one of the thorniest issues the 49ers front office and coaching staff have to navigate during final cuts.

Hurd, a 2019 third-round pick from Baylor, has seen his first two seasons marred by injuries. As a rookie he suffered a season-ending back injury during the second week of the preseason. Last year he tore his ACL early in training camp. Now he’s dealing with another knee issue according to Shanahan.

“He’s got some knee tendonitis,” Shanahan said. “So instead of going one day off and three on, we just made the decision a couple of days ago to shut him down for the week. We’ll make sure he gets at least seven days off. I think it was five days before that. So, it’s going to be a little over 10 days. Hopefully when we get to Las Vegas week, that’ll be the right answer. I hope he’ll be a little bit better.”

Lack of practice time already put Hurd’s roster status in question, but it may not be as simple as simply cutting ties with him and moving on. The 49ers have a few different options depending on how the next several days play out.

Assuming Hurd returns healthy for the third week of the preseason, he’ll have four practices and a game to show the coaching staff he’s worthy of a roster spot. The good news for him is the receiving corps is relatively thin, although roster spots are starting to become less available as camp rolls on and some players separate themselves.

Their first option is to keep Hurd on the roster and play him. This seems like the least likely scenario since players like Mohammed Sanu, Trent Sherfield and Jauan Jennings have stood out in camp. However, if Hurd comes back to action and shows out, there’s room in the receiving corps for a player as potentially dynamic as he is.

Then there’s the option where they keep Hurd on the roster, but place him on Injured Reserve. Going on IR after final roster cuts affords the player an opportunity to return to action that season. Perhaps Hurd’s knee tendinitis continues acting up, the club could keep him on the roster, place him on IR, and kick the can down the road for a minimum six weeks. They downside here is that he’d eat a roster spot until he got to IR, and San Francisco would have to risk cutting a player they want and hoping he clears waivers.

Another way to get Hurd to IR is through waivers. This is risky since he’d have to be waived/injured and then clear waivers to get back to the 49ers’ IR list. That would also end his season. The problem here is there’s no guarantee he clears waivers. He’s a former third-round pick with a ton of upside that another team could easily take a flier on. San Francisco saw this happen with defensive back DJ Reed who was waived/injured last offseason with a chest injury and scooped up by the Seahawks.

A similar option is trying to get Hurd to the practice squad. This would also involve sneaking him through waivers, which would likely prove difficult for the same reasons outlined above.

There’s also the scenario where the cut Hurd outright. His 49ers tenure would’ve amounted to a couple preseason touchdowns and zero regular-season games played. This seems like a colossal waste of talent to just let go to another team, but this is why none of these choices are necessarily easy for San Francisco.

Waiving Hurd to try and get him back on the practice squad or IR risks him getting scooped up by another club. Cutting him all but ensures he’d go to another club. Keeping him though means eliminating a roster spot on a players who is a sizable question mark even if he is healthy enough to play.

Hurd may be a player at his floor now, but his ceiling is still exceedingly high. That’s why none of those answers are easy for San Francisco. It may all ride on how Hurd plays following a 10-day absence. More injury woes could lead the 49ers to simply cut ties. If he flashes at all though, it’s easy to see the team talking themselves into his upside.

No matter what, it’s going to be a very difficult decision for the 49ers,  and the picture of Hurd’s future with the team is going to remain unclear right up until final cuts and possibly after.

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6 49ers that need to shine in joint practices with Chargers

Trey Lance is one of a few 49ers that need to shine in their joint practices with the Chargers.

There may not be a more important preseason event for the 49ers than their joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers.

While training camp plays a role in determining the roster, and the preseason games carry some value, head coach Kyle Shanahan said these practices Thursday and Friday against another team are what he’ll be watching closest.

“I’m a lot more into the practices when you scrimmage than the actual game,” Shanahan said. “So you see what you cover with other team over two days, and then you kind of plan you reps accordingly to that.”

With that in mind, here are some 49ers that need to stand out in their two practices down in Southern California:

WR Jalen Hurd, DE Dee Ford won’t play for 49ers in 1st preseason game

Neither Jalen Hurd nor Dee Ford will play for the #49ers vs. the Chiefs, but their absences aren’t equal.

There’ll be two key 49ers among those missing for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, although the reason for their absences are very different.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Thursday announced defensive end Dee Ford and wide receiver Jalen Hurd would both be absent for the first game on their exhibition slate.

Ford’s absence won’t hurt his chances of making the club. The team is working him in slowly after he missed virtually all of last year with a back injury. He’s been getting some days off in camp and is slowly working into team drills. Throwing him into a game situation would be an unnecessary acceleration of his timeline. As long as he’s available Week 1 the 49ers will be satisfied.

Hurd’s story is a little different. The team just doesn’t have very much film on him since he’s played in only one exhibition game since being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft. Hurd has missed practice time and has only limited action in team drills. If he’s going to make the team, the coaches have to see him in game situations.

Shanahan wasn’t optimistic about Hurd’s chances to make the roster given how his camp has gone, but he scaled back on that some Thursday when he went into more detail on how the team is managing the receiver as he makes his way back from a torn ACL last training camp.

“I was impressed with him. He got some balls. Made some plays,” Shanahan said of Hurd’s practice performance. “No, he’s coming along. The stuff that I said the other day wasn’t anything that was a shot at him. That’s the reality of injured players. I don’t think people realize that  when you have guys who are talented enough to make your team, it’s tough because it’s not about just getting them to the 53. Those are the stressful decisions (general manager) John (Lynch) and I have because there’s guys you really want to help but you’ve got to be smart with them because they’re coming off real serious injuries. But you eventually got to show that you won’t get re-injured and that’s what’s tough.”

Hurd and the 49ers are in a tough spot. They need him healthy, but they also need to see him play. Ultimately a player’s health goes above all else, and the hope is that Hurd is back to 100 percent after missing 2019 with a back injury and last year with the ACL. That doesn’t mean the coaches will automatically put him on the roster though, especially at a position where the 49ers desperately need capable depth.

Saturday is just the first of three preseason games though. Hurd will have two more chances to play in games and plenty of practices to make his mark and work his way onto the active roster for the first time in his career.

49ers depth chart: Race for third WR spot heating up

The #49ers’ 3rd WR race is officially underway.

The third wide receiver spot was one of the most intriguing 49ers’ roster battles going into the training camp, but the early portion of camp doesn’t typically afford for a ton of insight on depth chart movement. That changed a little bit Tuesday when the pads came on for the first time.

Our earliest glimpse at the WR3 battle came at the end of OTAs when offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel indicated Mohamed Sanu shined in the voluntary sessions. Sanu earned more praise at the start of camp from head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s at least in the mix if he’s not in the lead.

Early praise for a WR is hardly enough to pencil him into a roster spot though. Tuesday gave rise to two new players in the running with Sanu – 2019 third-round pick Jalen Hurd and free agent signee Trent Sherfield.

Hurd participated in team drills for the first time Tuesday and got through them without any major hiccups according to Shanahan.

“I don’t think he was at the point of contact a bunch, but it was good to get him out there in some live reps,” Shanahan said. “I think he was on the backside a number of times. I think he had a good slant, but I’ll see the film. It was good to just get him out there and get some team reps. And we got through it and keep stacking those days.”

That’s not necessarily a glowing endorsement, but it’s an indication that Hurd is on track to put himself in position to compete for a job that might’ve been his a long time ago had back and knee injuries not stolen his first two NFL seasons. Hurd is a big, talented, versatile athlete who brings a ton of upside if he can stay healthy through camp.

Sherfield was originally signed as a special teams ace, but he’s forcing his way into the conversation for a larger offensive role.

“He had such a good reputation for how he plays on special teams. So that’s a little where it started,” Shanahan said. “But it’s very hard to make our team on special teams if you can’t contribute as a receiver. He’s a guy who we think can play and has a chance to make this seem just as a receiver. And when you throw how good of a special teams player he is, it makes him very hard for guys to beat out.”

It sounds like Sherfield could be a virtual lock to make the roster, but his emergence as a receiver is a little unexpected. In three seasons with the Cardinals he caught only 28 balls for 340 yards and one touchdown while seeing his offensive snaps dip each year.

Shanahan credited special teams coordinator Richard Hightower for vouching for Sherfield as a pass-catcher, but Hightower deflected credit to the front office.

“I can’t take credit for that. (Director of pro personnel) RJ (Gillen) and (general manager) John (Lynch) and their staff, they do a hell of a job with looking at all the offensive tape and all that,” Hightower said. “I don’t watch any of that stuff. So I’m so focused on special teams and what we need to do on special teams, but RJ and those guys that they work with, they watch the tape along with Mike McDaniel and those guys felt comfortable enough to bring him in and let him work as a receiver as well. And he’s here to prove that he can play receiver too.”

Sherfield was on the receiving end of the highlight of camp so far. Trey Lance rolled left and slung a pass to Sherfield in stride 50 yards (give or take five yards depending on the account) for a would-be touchdown.

There’s a long way to go in the preseason and a slew of other receivers on the roster who could shoehorn their way into the conversation, but there’s a race developing and players that don’t make their way into the mix now may fall too far behind to become a factor.

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No reason for alarm after Nick Bosa, Jalen Hurd day off

No need for panic after the 49ers rested Nick Bosa and Jalen Hurd for a scheduled day off from training camp.

Red flags may not have gone up, but they were certainly at the ready Friday when early reports from Day 3 of 49ers training camp said both Nick Bosa and Jalen Hurd weren’t in attendance for individual drills the way they had been to start camp. Their absences were both scheduled according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, and the red flags were put away.

Shanahan said Bosa and Hurd were both given maintenance days as the club eases them back into a larger workload. Both players have been going through individual work with their position groups to start camp. That’s not the only precaution they’ll take though with scheduled maintenance days every third day. There’s still no timeline on when they’ll be in team drills.

The 49ers’ head coach elaborated some on what the plan is with Bosa specifically, saying the team is not setting a timeline and instead taking it a day at a time.

“I mean all his plans so far, but we haven’t set a date where, hey, this is the day you start. We’re doing the individual, I think every third day’s a maintenance day, I think,” Shanahan said. “But I also, I’m going to count on Nick on that the most. I know Nick, we don’t have to make a lot of decisions for him when it comes to football. He’s thinking about his body and what’s right 24-7. I think it’s tough when you’ve got younger guys that you need to develop a lot and also protect.”

Not putting a date for a return takes the onus off Bosa to be pressured into returning even if he doesn’t feel right. He tore his ACL last September so he’s still less than a year removed from the injury. The third-year defensive end says he plans to be ready for Week 1 in Detroit, and that’ll continue to be the goal even if it means scheduled maintenance days and a couple weeks without team drills in camp.

 

Watch: Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd back in action for 49ers

Watch Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Jalen Hurd return from injuries to open their 2021 training camp.

Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Jalen Hurd all passed physicals and avoided started their 2021 training camp on an injured list. Instead, they were suited up and participating Wednesday when the 49ers held their first full practice of the year.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie signal caller Trey Lance drew plenty of attention given their respective importance to the team’s short and long-term future, but the trio of Bosa, Ford and Hurd returning was perhaps the biggest note of the day.

It’s not a surprise that they were on the field. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday said that would be the case. However, videos from the session show that all three are moving well and look to be trending in the right direction health-wise leading into the 2021 season.

Here’s video of each from the first day of training camp:

Good injury news for 49ers: Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Jalen Hurd all active to start camp

Good news for the 49ers: Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Jalen Hurd are all active to start training camp.

The 49ers started training camp off with a bit of good news on the injury front. Defensive ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, and wide receiver Jalen Hurd all passed their physicals upon reporting for camp and will be active to start their preseason work.

That doesn’t necessarily mean all three will be full participants out of the gate. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday in his press conference said he expects the trio will ease their way in with individual drills before moving onto team work.

“They’re all starting out, I believe, with individual tomorrow. I think that’s, we’re not going to put any of them in team situations for a little bit. I’d say at least this first block of days,” Shanahan said. “I think we’ve got four practices, a day off, and then I believe we’ve got three more again and then a day off. I think we’ll look into it in about a week. It’s the first time they’ll be out there with the D-Line and stuff and doing things like that. Jalen with the receivers. I’d be surprised if they got into team drills within a week. But as soon as they’re ready, they’ll be out there.”

It’s not a surprise to see the 49ers exercising extreme caution with their players returning from injury given their tribulations on that front last season.

Bosa is returning from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 2. Ford only played in Week 1 before a back injury sidelined him for the final 15 games, and Hurd tore his ACL early in training camp.

They’ve all had a lot of time to recover and receive treatment, but given how important all three of them will be to the 49ers’ success, the club won’t be in a rush to put them back into full-time work.

Jimmy Garoppolo: I’m dying to get Jalen Hurd on field

49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo is excited about the Jalen Hurd’s return to the field for San Francisco.

The 49ers have a little bit of a hole in their wide receiver depth chart and a number of candidates to fill it. One player in particular, 2019 third-round pick Jalen Hurd, stands out as a favorite if he’s healthy enough to play. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on Wednesday in a radio interview expressed his excitement over Hurd’s potential return.

Hurd hasn’t been healthy in either of his two professional seasons. A stress fracture in his back during the 2019 preseason sidelined him for the entire year. Then last season he tore his ACL at the start of training camp and went on season-ending Injured Reserve.

Garoppolo on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco told Damon, Ratto and Kolsky that Hurd has developed well and that he’s excited to get him on the field.

“Jay’s come a long way. He really has in his route running, just developing his body and becoming a pro,” Garoppolo said. “I mean, the guy does it the right way. I’m dying to get him out there right now, I really am. He’s such a physical freak, just the things he can do in his route running, with the ball in his hands, it’s very impressive. So, hopefully we’ll get to put those on display and get him out there as soon as possible.”

Hurd was drafted as a wide receiver after playing the position for one year at Baylor University. Prior to that he was a running back for three years at the University of Tennessee. His dual-threat skill set put an extremely high ceiling on him, although there were questions about whether he’d be able to play receiver at the professional level.

It appears per Garoppolo’s comments that he’s come along nicely despite his injury issues.

With Kendrick Bourne’s exit in free agency, the 49ers have a void at the No. 3 WR spot on the roster. Hurd’s combination of size and speed could make him an effective replacement as long as he’s able to stay on the field. If he is available, it could quickly become clear why Garoppolo was so excited to get him back.

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49ers place Jalen Hurd on IR, add 4 players, waive 2 others

The 49ers injury issues forced them to make a slew of roster moves.

The 49ers on Thursday made a flurry of roster moves ahead of their morning practice. Wednesday came with a slew of reported additions that were made official, along with the placement of wide receiver Jalen Hurd on Injured Reserve.

Hurd tore his ACL on the second day of padded practices when he was working on a side field with trainers. The injury and subsequent IR stint will end his season.

San Francisco added a trio of players who were previously reported to be signing, including defensive backs Johnathan Cyprien and Evan Foster, offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu and wide receiver Jaron Brown.

Cyprien and Foster will compete for reserve spots at strong safety. Grasu will add depth at center while the 49ers deal with a rash of injuries at the position, and Brown will give depth to a receiving corps that’s also been shaken up by injuries.

To make room on the 80-man roster, the 49ers waived undrafted rookie linebacker Jonas Griffith, and undrafted rookie cornerback DeMarkus Acy.