Remember Jalen Hurd? Former 49ers wide receiver signs with Patriots

Former 49ers wide receiver Jalen Hurd still hasn't played a regular-season snap, but he'll get another chance with the Patriots now.

There aren't too many players in recent San Francisco 49ers history who generated plenty of hype without actually doing a thing, but wide receiver Jalen Hurd certainly falls into that category.

It's easy to understand why.

The 2019 third-round pick out of Baylor and the University of Tennessee was raw, at least as wide receivers go, as he transitioned to the position from running back during his collegiate tenure at two different schools.

Still, at 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, Hurd could have been a mismatch nightmare for head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Hurd had a handful of promising moments during his inaugural preseason bout versus the Dallas Cowboys, but he also ended up suffering a serious back injury that eliminated any contributions from him throughout 2019. His back injury was so serious that he wasn't even able to accompany the team to Miami, Florida, for the Super Bowl that season.

The following year, Hurd suffered a torn ACL that kept him out for all of 2020, and then a subsequent knee injury in September of 2021 landed him on injured reserve again.

The Niners finally cut bait with Hurd later that fall, and he never ended up playing a regular-season game.

However, maybe that'll change this go-around.

Latest news has former 49ers WR Jalen Hurd signing with Patriots

Perhaps year five will be the one in which Hurd finally sees a regular-season game, and he had been making attempts at a comeback for much of the offseason, including a workout with the Houston Texans.

However, it's not former San Francisco defensive coordinator (now Texans head coach) DeMeco Ryans luring in Hurd.

No, it's head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported the deal on Monday, and while it's not clear what the Pats are giving Hurd, it's hard to imagine anything but a one-year deal with zero in guaranteed money.

Probably nothing more than a "prove it" deal for Hurd, who simply seeks an opportunity to latch on somewhere.

While it never worked out for him with the 49ers, at least he'll get another shot to prove why he was such a unique commodity and target way back in 2019 in Round 3 of that year's draft.

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