© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
It feels like the 49ers’ season has turned on its head. “It feels like” might even be an unnecessary qualifier. This team, already saddled with key injuries at every position, is now down their starting quarterback, for, at earliest, four weeks, and at latest, for the season, and their best player in George Kittle likely for the year.
They traded away Kwon Alexander and cut both Dante Pettis and Jullian Taylor.
There are still more than a half-dozen players expected to miss Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
The moves (and the moves that are coming)
- Kwon Alexander traded to New Orleans Saints for Kiko Alonso and a fifth-round pick (2022, becomes 2021 if he hits playtime benchmarks). Saved the team more than $2 million. Broke down the move in detail and how the team re-re-structured his and Weston Richburg’s deals recently here. Alonso is currently on the physically unable to perform list, so the trade opens up a roster spot.
- Cut Dante Pettis and Jullian Taylor, who failed his physical, per NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco.
- George Kittle will be placed on injured reserve with a foot fracture. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he’ll be out for eight weeks.
“They told me eight weeks,” Shanahan said. “Kittle says two, but that’s how he rolls. That’s why he’ll go on IR and if it’s better than what they’re saying, he’ll have a chance to come back this year, but eight weeks is eight weeks.”
- Jimmy Garoppolo will also be placed on injured reserve, having aggravated and worsened the condition of his high ankle sprain. He’s getting opinions from multiple doctors. If he doesn’t undergo surgery, he has a six-plus-week recovery timeline. If he does undergo surgery, he’ll be out for the year.
- Jordan Reed could be activated off injured reserve and play in Thursday’s game against the Packers. If not, it’s likely Daniel Helm would be activated off practice squad.
- Running back Austin Walter, who was with the team in training camp last year, is likely to be promoted from practice squad for Thursday’s game, with Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. all out.
What the roster looks like, and the injury expectations
Practice report/injuries:
- RB Tevin Coleman (knee sprain) – OUT, will not play Thursday
- LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (hamstring) – OUT
- QB Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) – OUT, will be placed on injured reserve . Will go on some type of IR eventually with his high ankle sprain.
- TE George] Kittle (foot fracture) – OUT, will be placed on injured reserve
- WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring) – OUT, unlikely to play Thursday
- WR Richie James (ankle sprain) – Limited
- S Jaquiski Tartt (groin) – Limited
- TE Jordan Reed (IR-return, MCL sprain) – Limited
After cutting Dante Pettis and with Kiko Alonso not still on the physically unable to perform list, San Francisco currently has 50 players on the active roster. That’s before Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle go on injured reserve, meaning that there are effectively five open roster spots.
Who could take those spots?
Jordan Reed will almost certainly be activated from injured reserve, if not this week, then next. The hope was for him to play this week, and that currently seems likely with him being limited in practice. If Reed can’t go, Daniel Helm could either be activated from practice squad, or promoted to the active roster. The latter would seem more likely, given that he’s already made it through waivers once and the team has a plethora of open roster spots. He may moved to the active roster regardless of Reed.
Kevin White seems the most likely to take the roster spot freed up by Dante Pettis. White had used up his two practice squad activations (the third time requires a promotion to the active roster, not a gameday bump-up) and the team was spread too thin cap-wise to afford to promote him on Sunday. While Kendrick Bourne has played outside, he’s a slot receiver. White represents the only other real outside receiver besides Brandon Aiyuk.
Austin Walter will be activated from practice squad this week, taking up one of the two activation spots.
With Kwon Alexander gone and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles unlikely to play this week, the 49ers will likely need to activate or promote one more linebacker, leaving a spot for Jonas Griffith, who was cut early in camp, but made his way back to the practice squad.
Given that Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Richard Sherman and maybe Dee Ford could eventually come off injured reserve, it would not be surprising if the 49ers leave two or three open roster spots, rather than sacrificing practice squad guys for the week.
That leaves the following roster look for Thursday (italicized is possible activation, bold italicized is possible promotion)
QB: Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard
RB: JaMycal Hasty, Jerick McKinnon, Austin Walter, Tevin Coleman
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
TE: Ross Dwelley, Charlier Woerner, Jordan Reed, Daniel Helm
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor, Richie James Jr., Kevin White, Deebo Samuel
OL: Trent Williams, Laken Tomlinson, Hroniss Grasu, Daniel Brunskill, Mike McGlinchey, Justin Skule, Tom Compton, Colton McKivitz
DL: Arik Armstead, D.J. Jones, Javon Kinlaw, Kerry Hyder, Jordan Willis, Dion Jordan, Kevin Givens, Kentavius Street
LB: Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair, Joe Walker, Jonas Griffith, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
CB: Jason Verrett, Emmanuel Moseley, K’Waun Williams, Jamar Taylor, Ahkello Witherspoon, Dontae Johnson, Ken Webster
S: Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Tarvarius Moore, Marcell Harris
ST: Taybor Pepper, Robbie Gould, Mitch Wishnowsky
Was Garoppolo ever healthy? Shanahan explains his maybe too-soon return
The confusing part of Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury is that Kyle Shanahan saw him as performing well enough in practice three-plus weeks ago to play again. But he also acknowledged that he didn’t look right. If he’s not right, why are you playing him?
Eventually, that flawed approach saw Garoppolo’s season, and 49ers career, pushed to the brink. He may not play another game in Santa Clara. Shanahan explained the process of clearing him and whether he returned too soon, saying, again that he looked good in practice.
“He looked really good in practice for the last two weeks,” Shanahan said. “Also thought he looked pretty good in the game for the next two weeks following that. So, that’s why when he went down in that game, we thought it was just what happens with high ankle sprains, which happens to everybody…
“The way the Miami game went, if I could have seen that before the game, we could have avoided bringing him back, but I thought he gave us a real good chance to win and we didn’t think he was risking injury by going further with it and he didn’t. That’s why he was able to come back the next two weeks even healthier, but he re-did something in the Seattle game and it was bad. Tried hard to come back and I’m glad the docs wouldn’t let him, because it ended up being worse than we thought.”
Fred Warner talks Kwon Alexander’s impact
Shanahan seemed far more upset about the trade of Kwon Alexander than he was about Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury. Obviously, one is no longer with the team and one is injured, but it said everything about Alexander’s impact. Even when a pectoral tear and subsequent bicep surgery stole the second half of last season from him and made him look like a shell of himself in the Super Bowl and start of this season, his impact in the locker room has never been in question.
From Shanahan to general manager John Lynch, the entire team was hurt by the trade of Alexander.
“I love Kwon Alexander,” Shanahan said. “It broke my heart to have to tell him what we did yesterday, but you’ve also got to understand what that does. Sometimes, you’ve got to make those decisions, even though it’s very tough. I want Kwon here forever, and what he’s done for us, even in a year, and how much he means to us as a human. Sometimes when you look ahead and you see like keeping him here for eight more weeks, it’s going to cost us two other players at the end of this year. That’s kind of the business aspect of the NFL.”
Maybe the most immediate impact of Alexander’s tenure was how he influenced the young linebacking corps of the 49ers. He brought out Fred Warner’s voice, and encouraged his two younger brothers, as he called them, in Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair.
Warner said he wouldn’t be the soon-to-be All-Pro player he is without Alexander’s influence. He said he went to Alexander’s house on Monday to spend time with him before he left for New Orleans.
“I wouldn’t be where I’m at in my game and as a player if it wasn’t for Kwon,” Warner said. “I can’t thank him enough for what he was able to do for me and for this team… I wasn’t the player I am now until Kwon came onto the team and brought that out of me… It was in there, it just hadn’t been brought out yet until he got here. I’m forever indebted to him.”
