49ers: 5 players who aren’t helping their roster chances during OTAs
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Wide Receiver Travis Benjamin
Another one of the players absent from the media-observed Week 2 session of OTAs was veteran wide receiver Travis Benjamin, who is out with a calf strain.
On the positive side, the injury isn’t considered to be serious, and expectations are Benjamin will be ready by the time training camp begins.
But for a 32-year-old wide receiver who has dealt with injuries in recent years and fully opted out from last season, missing out on some vital time to separate from the many other wide receivers vying for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart is far from ideal.
Benjamin’s absence opened up the door for one of San Francisco’s offseason pickups, Trent Sherfield, to see more field time. Sherfield, Mohamed Sanu and Jauan Jennings appear to be the top three candidates to round out the wide receiver depth chart behind the two starters, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Meanwhile, backup slot receiver Richie James remains in the mix, too.
Not getting out on the field while dealing with an injury, regardless of how minor it is, won’t help Benjamin’s chances of sticking around.
Unless he wows in training camp, it’s looking more and more like he’s on the weaker end of the bubble.