49ers defensive end Tank Carradine was starting to come into his own over the past several weeks, but the former second-rounder now might be forced to sit out several months. Head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed yesterday that Carradine suffered an ankle sprain on Thursday night and could be placed on the injured reserve. The move wouldn’t necessarily end the player’s season, as the 49ers are allowed to bring back a pair of players from the IR. However, if he was indeed placed on the injured reserve, he’d be out at least eight weeks.
“Tank has got a high ankle sprain,” Shanahan said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “We haven’t gotten his MRI back, but we’re going to have to get that and really decide whether IR or not, because any time you’ve got a high ankle sprain, it’s going to be a while. So we’re not exactly sure how long it’s going to be. We’ll have to decide that probably Monday.”
The former Florida State standout has spent his entire career in San Francisco. During his first four years in the league, Carradine had served mostly in a reserve role, starting only one of his 36 career games. However, he was seemingly given more responsibility in 2017, as he had already started two of the 49ers three contests. So far, Carradine had compiled seven tackles and one sack, and Pro Football Focus had ranked him as the 25th-best edge defender among 87 eligible candidates.
If Carradine is forced to miss significant time, the 49ers could turn to first-rounder Solomon Thomas to slide into the starting spot. The team is also rostering former Pro Bowler Elvis Dumervil and former fifth-rounder Aaron Lynch.
Lynch was a 5th round pick.