49ers roster: 4 players with most to lose in preseason vs. Raiders

No. 1: 49ers Wide Receiver Jalen Hurd

Plenty of fans have hyped up Richie James. A number more have likely done the same for Jalen Hurd, who has still yet to see a regular-season snap after being selected in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Yes, injuries haven’t been fair to Hurd, limiting him to that lone preseason outing his rookie year before suffering a season-ending back injury, then an ACL tear in 2020. Now, knee tendinitis has been the culprit, forcing the 6-foot-4 receiver to regularly miss practices while also sidelining him for both of San Francisco’s preseason games this year.

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The 49ers should have lost almost all patience for Hurd’s recovery. And even if he returns and is able to play against Las Vegas, it might not be anything close to enough for him to earn a roster spot.

Instead, what Hurd is essentially doing is auditioning for the 31 other teams around the league.

The NFL isn’t overly forgiving towards players who can’t stay on the field, and this might be particularly true for Hurd, given he hasn’t seen a regular season yet despite being in the league the last two years. A strong outing versus the Raiders might change his fortunes to a small extent, but the window for him to make any kind of substantial difference has gotten awfully small.

Needless to say, Hurd’s pro career could potentially come to a close this Sunday when both teams kick off at 7 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium.