SANTA CLARA— On Sunday, August 16, second year San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver Jalen Hurd suffered a major knee injury during the reigning NFC champion’s third practice of training camp. He injured himself while running a route on a side field where he was working with a member of the 49ers training staff.
Hurd underwent an MRI on August 17 to confirm the 49ers’ initial diagnosis that he tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). This represents the latest injury-related setback in Hurd’s professional career. The 49ers chose Hurd in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, thinking that the athletic 6 foot and 5 inch tall, 230 pounder could succeed in the 49ers’ offensive system. His rookie season never got going as he only participated in two preseason games before he suffered a season-ending stress fracture in his lower back.
According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan addressed Hurd’s injury saying, Hurd would “be back next year. It’s a pretty unfortunate thing for him. We know what he went through last year with his back and the guy has worked as hard as anyone on our team to get back.”
Hurd’s injury is a big blow to the teams wide receivers who are inexperienced and lacking in proven pass-catchers aside from Deebo Samuel, who became the 49ers’ best receiver in his rookie season last year. But, Samuel may miss the season’s first few games if he is not fully recovered from a broken foot suffered during offseason training. SF will probably also need production from 2020 1st round round pick Brandon Aiyuk and their other wide receivers to achieve offensive success this season.
