The 49ers are dealing with some injuries in training camp already, and NFL free agency could provide some options for would-be tryouts.
The San Francisco 49ers have gone through only one week of on-field training camp workouts, yet the ever-present injury bug has already bitten head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad.
One of the bigger setbacks was the loss of second-year wide receiver Jalen Hurd, who suffered a torn ACL during non-contact drills earlier this week and is expected to miss all of 2020. After missing his rookie year with an unrelated back injury, Hurd’s latest setback is quite the blow for the Niners amid their quest to get back to the Super Bowl.
Wide receiver is one position garnering a lot of attention and under some scrutiny heading towards the regular season. Hurd is out, and fellow wideout Deebo Samuel (foot) could miss the beginning of the year, too.
At this point in the year, the NFL free agency market is pretty thin, and San Francisco’s limited salary cap space prevents general manager John Lynch from going after some of the few big-name free agents still out there. But with some restrictions lifted on workouts in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the 49ers bring in some added reinforcements to bolster the back end of the depth chart.
The Niners have done this already, onboarding wide receivers Tavon Austin and J.J. Nelson. Other players have been worked out, too, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see additional names linked to San Francisco in the days counting down to Week 1.
As far as some of those remaining free agents, it surely wouldn’t hurt the 49ers to work out these three players in an attempt to see if they’d be good fits for the upcoming season.