49ers Injury Updates: Jalen Hurd is an Injured Reserve Candidate

Back to the shelf he goes.

Kyle Shanahan revealed at his presser on Wednesday that Jalen Hurd is an injured reserve candidate.

Hurd has not been able to practice following the preseason finale against the Raiders. Hurd is experiencing tendinitis in his knee that has not allowed him to be anywhere near fit for practice.

Since it is blurry of any sort of timetable of a return for Hurd, Shanahan will most likely place Hurd on injured reserve. Doing so will free up a roster spot for the 49ers and allow them to activate him off of I.R. at minimum of three weeks following placement. This will allow Hurd to put all focus on healing and hopefully be able to contribute on the 49ers offense.

However, this is just wasted hope.

As I have said all along, the 49ers are falling for the temptation of potential with Hurd. They are envisioning what he could look like in the offense, but the reality is that sustaining health is nearly impossible for him. He played roughly 25 snaps in a preseason game and is still feeling the pains of that game. What would make anyone believe that putting him on the shelf for the foreseeable future will change that?

Sure, he may look healthy for a couple weeks maybe. But after that, he just goes back to missing time and nursing an injury. This is his unfortunate reality and the 49ers just refuse to let him go. They are just hypnotized by his potential that will never be tapped into due to constant fragility.

Aside from the major and unsurprising news of Hurd, Shanahan announced that Javon Kinlaw (knee), Emmanuel Moseley (knee), and Kevin Givens (hip) will not practice Wednesday. Trey Lance (finger) was also limited and will attempt to throw and take snaps.

Moseley's injury is a little bit of a concern at this point as this is another missed practice for him. He still has time to get back into it and be ready for Sunday against the Lions, but right now it is at the very least a bit of a concern. The 49ers will need to start considering who will slide into Moseley's spot should he not be up for it.