The San Francisco 49ers were already in dire need of reinforcements at wide receiver, recently adding veterans J.J. Nelson and Tavon Austin as insurance for injured starter Deebo Samuel. Now, they could be on the hunt for more. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, second-year wideout Jalen Hurd is undergoing an MRI after suffering what's believed to be a major knee injury during Sunday's practice, and "the fear is the test will reveal a torn ACL," which would likely sideline Hurd for all of 2020.
Hurd initially appeared to injure his foot while working on a field away from the rest of the receivers on Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated's Grant Cohn, and others indicated the former second-round draft pick even returned to the field for team drills later in the practice. Either way, the young pass catcher's absence marks just the latest blow to an already depth-tested receiving corps.
In the wake of their Super Bowl appearance, the Niners said goodbye to 2019 trade acquisition Emmanuel Sanders via free agency, then dealt former starter Marquise Goodwin to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2020 draft. With Samuel, a standout rookie during San Francisco's NFC title run, unlikely to be ready for the season opener while rehabilitating from a broken foot, the 49ers could've used a step up from Hurd, the big-bodied Baylor product who missed his entire rookie season due to a stress fracture in his back.
First-round draft pick Brandon Aiyuk, who's fresh off his own offseason core-muscle surgery, is expected to serve atop the Niners' WR depth chart in the meantime. Reserves Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis and the new additions -- Austin and Nelson -- figure to compete for the remaining reps, with newly paid tight end George Kittle still intact as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's projected No. 1 target.
