49ers Work Out S Mike Tyson, Four Others
With the 49ers dealing with injuries throughout their roster, the team brought in several players for workouts today. Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer reports (via Twitter) that the team worked out safeties Mike Tyson and Tray Matthews, cornerback Terrell Sinkfield, offensive tackle Tyler Jones, and fullback Johnny Stanton.
The 49ers are likely to be without Richard Sherman and Dee Ford for multiple games, so it’s understandable that the team is seeking some reinforcement in their secondary. Tyson is probably the most notable name of the bunch (for football reasons, of course). The 2017 sixth-rounder appeared in 10 games for Houston in 2018. He joined the Packers this past offseason, but he was cut before the end of the preseason.
Tray Matthews, 25, has been hunting for a gig since graduating from Auburn in 2017. Sinkfield has bounced between the NFL and CFL since going undrafted out of Northern Iowa in 2013. The 29-year-old has yet to appear in an NFL game, and he has experience playing cornerback and wide receiver.
49ers offensive lineman Weston Richburg was recently placed on the IR, so they team is clearly looking for some blocking prowess from their auditionees. Jones is a 24-year-old rookie out of North Carolina State, while Stanton was a former quarterback at Nebraska.
49ers’ D.J. Jones Out For Season
The hits keep coming for the 49ers. On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that defensive tackle D.J. Jones will miss the rest of the season thanks to a serious ankle injury. The Niners placed Jones on IR and they’re expected to fill his spot on the roster on Friday.
This news comes at an inopportune time for San Francisco, as the team is likely to be without Richard Sherman and Dee Ford for multiple games, and Weston Richburg and Marquise Goodwin were recently placed on IR. Jones, while not a household name like Sherman and Ford, has started all eleven games in which he’s appeared this year, and he has served as a solid run-stuffer in the Niners’ excellent defense.
The 49ers selected Jones in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, and he cracked the starting lineup for the first time in 2018, starting four out of the 10 games in which he saw action. This year, he became a fixture along the interior of the D-line and also recorded the first two sacks of his career.
The good news is that the injury to Jones could open the door for Kentavius Street to make his long-awaited debut, according to Shanahan. Street, a fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft, only fell to the fourth round because of an ACL tear he suffered before the draft, and although he showed flashes in the 49ers’ preseason slate this year, he was forced to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in September. The surgery went well, and the team recently designated Street as a candidate to return from IR.
49ers Place TE Garrett Celek On IR
Garrett Celek‘s eighth 49ers season will end after five games. The 49ers placed the veteran on IR, doing so barely a month after activating him from their PUP list. They promoted tight end Daniel Helm from their practice squad to take Celek’s roster spot.
This keeps a brutal injury stretch going for San Francisco, which has seen Richard Sherman, Dee Ford, Weston Richburg, defensive tackle D.J. Jones and Marquise Goodwin go down in recent days.
A back injury will shelve Celek again. He missed the first half of the 49ers’ bounce-back season due to a back malady that required offseason surgery. The 49ers have George Kittle, Levine Toilolo, Ross Dwelley and now Helm as their active-roster tight ends.
Rostered for his blocking prowess, Celek played more than 20 snaps in just one of the five games for which he was active. He did not catch a pass. The 31-year-old tight end’s four-year contract expires at season’s end.
49ers Prioritizing DeForest Buckner, George Kittle Over Arik Armstead
- Extensions for cornerstone 49ers DeForest Buckner and George Kittle will take precedence over retaining contract-year breakout defender Arik Armstead, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Armstead has been dominant in his fifth season, leading the 49ers with 10 sacks, but was inconsistent in his prior four seasons. With Armstead playing more at defensive end than D-tackle, it would cost them nearly $18MM to use the franchise tag. The 49ers tabled Buckner extension talks until 2020 and can begin negotiating with Kittle in January. The team is projected to hold $24MM in cap space — 25th-most in the league.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/19
Here are today’s practice squad comings and goings:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Bobo Wilson
New England Patriots
- Signed: K Josh Gable, DE Eric Lee, S Adarius Pickett
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: TE Paul Butler, LB Te’von Coney, C Kyle Kalis
- Released: TE Cole Wick
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Jermaine Kelly
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Xavier Turner
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Trevion Thompson
49ers Sign CB Dontae Johnson, WR Jordan Matthews
With Richard Sherman likely to miss multiple games, the 49ers have made a move to bolster their CB depth. NFL Insider Adam Caplan reports that San Francisco is re-signing veteran corner Dontae Johnson (Twitter link).
Johnson and the 49ers are quite familiar with each other at this point. The Niners selected the NC State product in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and he was a full-time starter for the club as recently as 2017. But he has become something of a nomad, and in 2019 alone, he’s spent time with the Chiefs, Chargers, and 49ers. He played in two games for the Chargers before being cut, and San Francisco promptly scooped him up. He primarily served as a special teams contributor in his five games with the 49ers before they cut him last month.
He may see a little more action on the defensive side of the ball for the next couple of weeks, but it would still be surprising to see him get a ton of snaps. Meanwhile, fellow corner Jason Verrett, who has been on IR since Week 4, is eligible to return if the 49ers want to open his practice window.
After the Johnson signing was reported, we learned that the 49ers are also reuniting with WR Jordan Matthews, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic (via Twitter). Matthews signed a one-year, $1.8MM contract with the team this offseason, though he did not survive final cuts. He was brought back to San Francisco in early October but played in just one game and did not record a catch. He then caught on with Philadelphia and played in two games for the WR-needy Eagles before they parted ways with him.
The 49ers put Marquise Goodwin on IR yesterday, so Matthews will take his roster spot, but as the sixth WR on the roster, he’s unlikely to see much playing time. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that the team formally placed Weston Richburg on IR, opening up space for Johnson.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/10/19
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Javier Edwards
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: FB Johnny Stanton
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Kofi Amichia
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Josh Smith
49ers Place Marquise Goodwin On IR
The 49ers got pretty banged up during their win over the Saints this past week, and now another player is headed to the shelf. The team has placed receiver Marquise Goodwin on injured reserve, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Goodwin had been dealing with a knee injury, and even though he hadn’t been playing much recently, it’s a significant depth blow. The speedster and deep-threat had a breakout 2017 campaign with the 49ers, racking up 962 yards and averaging an impressive 17.2 yards per catch while starting all 16 games. Injuries hampered him last year and limited him to only 11 games, and he fell down the depth chart this season.
He still made six starts in nine games in 2019, but he fell out of favor as the season went on. The Texas product had at least 41 yards in three of San Francisco’s first four games, but he failed to top 15 after that. Rookie Deebo Samuel began to emerge, and then the 49ers added Emmanuel Sanders as well. All that being said, if they were to now suffer another injury to the group they’d be getting pretty thin. This was the first year of a three-year, $20.3MM extension that Goodwin signed in March of last year.
2020 NFL Draft Order As Of Week 15
With 14 full weeks of the NFL season in the books, the 2020 draft order is beginning to take shape. Here’s the rundown of where things would stand if the 2019 season ended today:
1. Bengals: 1-12
2. Giants: 2-11
3. Redskins: 3-10
4. Dolphins: 3-10
5. Lions: 3-9-1
6. Cardinals: 3-9-1
7. Jaguars: 4-9
8. Falcons: 4-9
9. Jets: 5-8
10. Chargers: 5-8
11. Broncos 5-8
12. Panthers 5-8
13. Eagles 6-7
14. Raiders 6-7
15. Colts 6-7
16. Buccaneers 6-7
17. Browns 6-7
18. Raiders (via Bears) 6-7
19. Titans 8-5
20. Jaguars (via Rams) 8-5
21. Cowboys 6-7
22. Dolphins (via Steelers) 8-5
23. Dolphins (via Texans) 8-5
24. Vikings 9-4
25. Bills 9-4
26. Chiefs 9-4
27. Packers 10-3
28. Seahawks 10-3
29. Patriots 10-3
30. Saints 10-3
31. Ravens 11-2
32. 49ers 11-2
49ers CB Richard Sherman Out Until Playoffs?
When it rains, it pours. We’ve already passed along several 49ers injury updates today, and the bad news continue. Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that cornerback Richard Sherman will be out a few weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
[RELATED: Dee Ford To Miss Time]
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds some more context (via Twitter), noting that the Grade-2 hamstring injury could sideline the veteran defensive back until the playoffs. Rapoport notes that Sherman will try to play again during the regular season, but the team is expected to be cautious with the 31-year-old.
Following an underwhelming first season in San Francisco, Sherman has bounced back in 2019. He’s compiled 53 tackles, 11 passes defense, and three interceptions (including one pick-six) in 13 games (13 starts). Sherman is in the second year of a three-year, $39MM deal he signed with San Francisco back in 2018.
It hasn’t been a great day on the 49ers’ injury front. We learned this morning that center Weston Richburg is done for the year thanks to a torn patella tendon. Shanahan later told reporters that edge rusher Dee Ford would miss at least three weeks with a hamstring strain.