49ers To Place Tevin Coleman On IR
The 49ers are preparing to place running back Tevin Coleman on injured reserve, head coach Kyle Shanahan says (Twitter link via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News). Between this and Raheem Mostert‘s knee strain, the Niners’ backfield is looking thin. According to Shanahan, Coleman’s issue is also more severe than Mostert’s. 
Coleman, 27, joined the 49ers last offseason after spending the first four seasons of his career in Atlanta. The veteran was solid in his 14 games (11 starts), compiling 544 yards and six scores on 137 carries. He also hauled in 21 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown. The emergence of Mostert relegated Coleman to more of a backup role, although he still had 18 totes (albeit for only 30 yards) through his team’s first two games this season.
The injury bug has shown no mercy to the 49ers, nor has it been exclusive to the offensive side of the ball. In the past week, the 49ers have also lost star defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas to season-ending ACL tears.
Meanwhile, they received better-than-expected news on Jimmy Garoppolo‘s high-ankle sprain, but Nick Mullens is still likely to start in his place on Sunday against the Giants. The Niners – currently at 1-1 – will hope to have Jimmy G under center in Week 4 against the Eagles.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/23/20
Today’s practice squad adds and drops:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Marcus Johnson
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Cale Garrett
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Austin Walter
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Ross Cockrell, C Zach Shackelford
49ers Promote Dion Jordan
The 49ers have promoted defensive end Dion Jordan from the practice squad to the active roster, per a club announcement. Jordan will provide reinforcement up front following the Niners’ rash of injuries, which includes season-ending ACL tears for defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.
[RELATED: 49ers DE Nick Bosa Has Torn ACL, Done For Season]
Jordan’s NFL career has taken some odd turns, to say the least. After being selected No. 3 overall by the Dolphins, Jordan did little to justify his pre-draft hype. After some underwhelming seasons, missed seasons, and a number of suspensions, Jordan found his way to the Seahawks in 2017. In 2018, he showed some promise as a rotational piece, and he parlayed that into a one-year deal with the Raiders.
He hooked on with the Niners in early August, only to be dropped from the roster before the season opener. After landing on their taxi squad, Jordan now has another opportunity at redemption, by way of the injury bug.
In 2019, Jordan saw time in seven games for the Raiders. He finished out with a grand total of five tackles, two sacks, and one pass defensed. His first chance to play in 2020 will come this Sunday against the Giants at the Meadowlands.
Latest On George Kittle's Status
George Kittle played through an injury last season, earning Pro Bowl honors despite dealing with a labrum tear. Just prior to Sunday’s Jets game, the 49ers tight end — who suffered an MCL sprain in Week 1 — was believed to be on track to return in Week 3, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. But considering the injury issues the 49ers had on the MetLife Stadium turf, which caused gripes from several San Francisco players, this might not still be the case. Kyle Shanahan said he will take the field conditions — when the 49ers return to MetLife to play the Giants — into account when determining Kittle’s Week 3 availability, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan.
- The 49ers will be down to just three first-round defensive linemen against the Giants. After losing Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas for the season, the 49ers ruled out Dee Ford for a second straight week. Ford, who has suffered a litany of maladies since being traded to San Francisco, has no return timetable, according to Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The seventh-year defensive end is currently down with a neck injury, but Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes this has morphed into a back problem (subscription required). Ziggy Ansah serves as the third ex-first-rounder, having signed with the 49ers this week.
- Down Tevin Coleman and likely to be without Raheem Mostert in Week 3, the 49ers brought in three running backs for a Tuesday workout. Paul Perkins, Karan Higdon and Austin Walter are auditioning for the 49ers, Pelissero notes (on Twitter). Perkins was a former Giants fifth-round pick but has not eclipsed 100 rushing yards in a season since 2016.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/20
We’ll keep track of today’s taxi squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Rick Leonard
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: DB Tyler Hall, QB Kyle Lauletta, DT David Moa
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: TE Sean Culkin
- Placed on practice squad IR: Xavier Grimble
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Marqui Christian
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G Alex Redmond
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Jalen Jelks, K Matthew McCrane
- Released: DT Tanzel Smart
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Released: RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Released: LB Greg Roberts
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Hale Hentges, TE Ethan Wolf
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DB Josh Nurse
- Released: RB Craig Reynolds
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: S Jahleel Addae
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Jermaine Grace
- Released: OL Tyler Haycraft
New York Jets
- Released: LB Paul Worrilow
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DL Alex Barrett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Daniel Helm
49ers’ Solomon Thomas Suffers Torn ACL
The hits just keep on coming for the 49ers. Shortly after learning that defensive end Nick Bosa is done for the year with a torn ACL, the 49ers announced that defensive lineman Solomon Thomas has suffered the same injury. Needless to say, Thomas’ year is over. 
[RELATED: 49ers’ Nick Bosa Done For Season]
Thomas didn’t just go down in the same game — he went down two plays after Bosa. This marks a lost season for the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft after a string of disappointing campaigns. The Stanford product started at least 12 games in each of his first two seasons but was first string just three times in 2019. After playing on just 41% of the Niners snaps, he turned into more of a role player than the star SF envisioned. This year, he started in both of his games, but he won’t have an opportunity to build off of that.
In 2017, Thomas was widely regarded as the second-best defensive lineman in the class, behind only Myles Garrett. On draft night, the Niners sent their No. 2 overall pick to the Bears and tapped Thomas, even though they already had a loaded defensive front featuring Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner. With that, the Bears got Mitchell Trubisky and the 49ers got a king’s ransom for sliding down just one spot. Unfortunately, they missed on Thomas. In four seasons (really, three seasons-and-change), Thomas registered six total sacks while starting just 30 games.
In other Niners injury news, the club received good word on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s day-to-day with his high-ankle injury, giving him a small chance of playing this week against the Giants and a better chance of returning for Week 4 against the Eagles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Running back Raheem Mostert, meanwhile, will be out for several weeks with a knee injury.
49ers RB Tevin Coleman To Miss Several Weeks
It keeps getting worse for the 49ers. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that 49ers running back Tevin Coleman will miss several weeks with a knee injury. The veteran suffered the injury during his team’s win over the Jets yesterday.
The 49ers training staff has presumably been working overtime this season, and the injuries have made their way to the running back room. Raheem Mostert is dealing with a MCL strain that will likely sideline him this weekend against the Giants, and with Coleman out, the team will likely have to turn to the likes of Jeff Wilson, Jerick McKinnon, and JaMycal Hasty to lead their running game.
Coleman, 27, joined the 49ers last offseason after spending the first four seasons of his career in Atlanta. The veteran was solid in his 14 games (11 starts), compiling 544 yards and six scores on 137 carries. He also hauled in 21 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown. The emergence of Mostert relegated Coleman to more of a backup role, although he still has 18 carries (albeit for only 30 yards) through his team’s first two games this season.
With injuries up and down the roster, it sounds like the 49ers did receive a bit of good news today. As Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com passes along, the 49ers are optimistic that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo won’t miss any time due to his high-ankle sprain.
49ers Agree To Deal With DE Ziggy Ansah
We heard earlier this morning that Ziggy Ansah was flying to meet with the 49ers with a signing likely in the cards, and now it appears official. San Francisco is finalizing a one-year deal with the veteran pass-rusher, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Kyle Shanahan later confirmed the agreement at his Monday press conference. The pact will be worth $3MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
This is the culmination of a couple rounds of flirting between the two sides, as Ansah has already met with the team multiple times recently. Fowler notes that the signing will take place as soon as Ansah clears the COVID-19 protocols. It’s a nice low-risk upside flyer for a team suddenly in need of edge help in the wake of Nick Bosa‘s injury.
Bosa, of course, went down with an ACL tear on Sunday, leaving a gaping hole along the 49ers’ defensive line. The defensive front was the engine behind last year’s Super Bowl run, and after Bosa’s injury and the trade of DeForest Buckner, the unit has now been severely depleted.
The fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft by the Lions, Ansah initially had a lot of success in Detroit. In 2015 he had 14.5 sacks, earning a second-team All-Pro selection. He had 12 more sacks in 2017 which caused the Lions to franchise-tag him, but injuries derailed his last couple of seasons.
He had a shoulder issue he could seemingly never quite get over, and had only 2.5 sacks in 11 games with Seattle last year. 31 now, Ansah is reportedly fully healthy and should have something left in the tank physically. It’ll be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Robert Saleh uses him moving forward.
49ers To Sign Ziggy Ansah?
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. The 49ers are meeting with Ezekiel Ansah this week, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Ansah previously met with the Niners twice, but left both meetings without a deal. This time, the club is much more optimistic about a deal coming together. 
It sounds like Ansah will, at long last, join the Niners, pending the results of his COVID testing. The 31-year-old has also drawn interest from the Ravens and Bills, but it seems like teams have purposely waited until the end of Week 1 to get into serious talks with him. Had Ansah signed before the season opener, his deal would have been fully guaranteed for the season. Now, the talented yet injury-prone veteran can be signed without a full commitment.
For the Niners, Ansah can serve as a talented reserve behind Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, The No. 5 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Ansah posted a double-digit sack campaign as recently as 2017. A shoulder injury marred his 2018 season and delayed his 2019 debut, but he is now another year removed from that injury. He could exhibit some of his old form in 2020, perhaps in a smaller number of snaps.
After topping the Jets 31-13 in Week 2, the Niners will turn their attention to the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Injury Updates: Colts, McCaffrey, Broncos, 49ers
It’s been a tough day for the NFL, with a slew of high profile players going down with serious injuries. We’ve brought you all the season-ending ones already, and now we’ve got some updates on some hopefully less long-term but still significant injuries. Colts receiver Parris Campbell had to be carted off with a knee injury, but fortunately Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that he did not tear his ACL.
Campbell’s 2019 rookie season was plagued by injuries as he dealt with a sports hernia, a broken hand, and a broken foot, so this was especially tough to see. He was supposed to play a big role in this Colts offense, and showed a nice connection with new quarterback Philip Rivers in Week 1. The Ohio State product and former second-round pick will have an MRI on Monday, and it seems like an MCL injury could be likely.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Panthers superstar Christian McCaffrey sprained his ankle and will have an MRI on Monday to determine the severity, Rapoport tweets. Fortunately, Rapsheet reports that the “initial hope” is it’s not too serious. Needless to say, it would be a massive loss for Carolina’s offense if he’s forced to miss any time.
- We heard earlier today that Drew Lock would miss multiple games with an AC joint injury in his throwing shoulder. While he agrees with the prognosis of multiple weeks missed, multiple sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News that the injury is not in fact to the AC joint (Twitter link). The bad news is that Klis also reports there is “concern” within the organization about Courtland Sutton‘s knee, but that nothing more will be known until tomorrow morning. The Broncos have been besieged by injuries, and can’t seem to catch a break in that regard.
- The Falcons blew a huge lead late for an absolutely gutting loss to the Cowboys, and the bad news doesn’t end there. The team fears starting right tackle Kaleb McGary has sprained his MCL, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The MRI Monday will confirm how long he’ll be out, but this sounds like a multi-week absence. McGary has started every game since the team drafted him in the first-round last year, and this is the last thing this 0-2 Atlanta team needed.
- Nick Bosa is done for the year with a torn ACL, and two other 49ers players are dealing with knee injuries. Running back Raheem Mostert is believed to have a mild MCL sprain and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas is believed to have a “serious” knee injury, according to tweets from Schefter. It sounds like both are going to miss time, although Mostert’s shouldn’t be too long-term and Schefter notes that Thomas’ didn’t have the initial grim clarity of Bosa’s, which could be a good sign. San Francisco has been another team bit hard by the injury bug.