Reuben Foster Suffers High-Ankle Sprain
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Monday that rookie linebacker Reuben Foster suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s Week 1 loss to Carolina, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area adds that Foster could miss four to six weeks. 
Foster went down in the second quarter Sunday, and the first-round pick initially thought he had broken his ankle.
“It was pain(ful),” Foster said (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). “I was a little scared, but at the same time, trust me, if you can’t put no pressure on it, then you should be worried, but when you put enough pressure on it, then you have got some hope. That’s all I was just hoping for. It was painful, but at the same time, I knew nothing was seriously damaged.”
Foster was viewed as a potential top ten pick before injury concerns weakened his stock. The Niners were not as worried about his surgically-repaired shoulder as other clubs and landed him at No. 31 overall.
Foster’s latest setback is unfortunate, but the team now knows that it will not be a season-ender.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported the injury. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Were Very Close To Hiring Josh McDaniels, Nick Caserio
Although things could change very quickly, the 49ers are pleased with what they have seen from rookie head coach/GM tandem Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch during their brief tenures with the club. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that San Francisco “intently pursued” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and player personnel director Nick Caserio this offseason and came very close to hiring both.
This does not sound much different than what we heard back in January, when McDaniels and Caserio were considered the runaway favorites to become the 49ers’ head coach and GM, respectively, and it was reported that McDaniels only withdrew his name from consideration when Caserio declined to interview with San Francisco. Both men have been very discerning when considering their next landing spot, and for good reason, considering their success and relative job security in New England. It is unclear as to why Caserio opted not to interview with the 49ers, but according to La Canfora, the possibility of a McDaniels/Caserio tandem in the Bay Area was even more real than it originally appeared. They remain a potential package deal, and they could leave the Pats in 2018 if the right opportunity arises.
49ers Work Out Brock Miller
- Free agent punter Brock Miller worked out for the 49ers on Thursday, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), but it doesn’t appear that San Francisco will be signing Miller at this time. Instead, the left-footed Miller was brought in to help the 49ers’ special teams unit prepare for Panthers punter Michael Palardy (another lefty). The 49ers will go forward with punter Bradley Pinion, while Miller — who inked a futures deal with San Francisco in January — will continue to hit the workout circuit.
Tyrod Taylor's Agent Contacted 49ers
Tyrod Taylor‘s agent contacted the Browns, Jets and 49ers prior to the Bills agreeing to a revamped deal with their incumbent starter, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News reports. After those discussions, Carucci reports Taylor’s camp decided it was best to agree to the reworked Bills pact. The three teams possessed some degree of interest in Taylor had he hit free agency, but it evidently wasn’t enough to dissuade Taylor from staying with the Bills on a contract that now pays him $10MM less over the next two years than it would have under the previous terms. “Maybe a couple less touchdowns, but as far as yardage, I did what I did to get that deal in the first place,” Taylor said, via Carucci, about the adjusted contract. “So whether they thought that I didn’t deserve it, I don’t know. That’s up to them.” Taylor threw for just 12 fewer yards last season (3,023) and rushed for 12 more (580) than he did in 2015. Although, the quarterback played in one more game last season than he did during his first year as Buffalo’s starter.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/17
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: G Jamil Douglas
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB Tony McRae, C Matt Skura
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Eric Lee
- Released: S B.T. Sanders, CB Marcus Sayles
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: FB Alex Armah
Chicago Bears
- Signed: TE Ben Braunecker
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Rashard Higgins, CB Darius Hillary, S Kai Nacua
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Mark Nzeocha
- Released: WR Brian Brown
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB LaTroy Lewis
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Ronald Martin
- Released: S Andrew Williamson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Raysean Pringle
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Akeem Hunt
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Joseph Jones, CB Craig Mager
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, CB Kevin Peterson
- Released: OL Michael Dunn, DL Louis Trinca-Pasat
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Willie Beavers
- Released: LB Trevor Bates, DT Darius Kilgo
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Nordly Capi, WR Travis Rudolph
New York Jets
- Signed: DL Lawrence Thomas
- Released: DL Patrick Gamble
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Ben Boulware, RB Jeremy McNichols
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Kenneth Durden
49ers Working Out CB Leon Hall
The 49ers are auditioning veteran defensive back Leon Hall today, a source tells Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Hall also worked out for San Francisco in May.
Clearly, two workout sessions in the span three months indicates the 49ers have a relatively serious level of interest in signing Hall. Waiting until September to (potentially) sign Hall means the 49ers were able to give more practice reps to their younger defensive backs during the summer, while holding off on inking Hall until after Week 1 would ensure that his 2017 salary doesn’t become fully guaranteed.
San Francisco is scheduled to field one of NFL’s most youthful secondaries, as starting cornerbacks Rashard Robinson and Dontae Johnson will be backed up by Keith Reaser, K’Waun Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Adrian Colbert. At age-32, Hall would easily become the oldest member of that crew, and add some much-needed experience to the 49ers’ back-end.
Hall, who’s shown the ability to play safety in addition to his natural cornerback position, spent the 2016 season with the Giants after nearly a decade in Cincinnati. In 12 appearances, Hall played on roughly a third of New York’s defensive snaps and managed 30 tackles, one interception, and two sacks.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Carlton Agudosi
- G Dorian Johnson
- CB Ryan Lewis
- S Harlan Miller
- TE Ricky Seals-Jones
- RB James Summers
- DT Pasoni Tasini
- LB Scooby Wright
Los Angeles Rams
- Claimed:
- C J.J. Dielman
- DT Quinton Jefferson
- C Aaron Neary
- Waived:
- LB Nic Grigsby
- TE John Mundt
- DT Louis Trinca-Pasat
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Omarius Bryant
- OL Michael Dunn
- OL Jake Eldrenkamp
- DB Isaiah Johnson
- LB Cassanova McKinzy
- WR Paul McRoberts
- FB Sam Rogers
- OLB Carlos Thompson
- TE Travis Wilson
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed:
- DL Xavier Cooper (story)
- Placed on IR:
- DL Ronald Blair
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR DeAndre Carter
- OL John Flynn
- TE Cole Hikutini
- CB Asa Jackson
- QB Nick Mullens
- DL Noble Nwachukwu
- WR DeAndre Smelter
- OL Darrell Williams Jr.
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to practice squad:
- RB Mike Davis
- WR Cyril Grayson
- CB Mike Tyson
- C Joey Hunt
- DT Garrison Smith
- TE Tyrone Swoopes
49ers Claim DE Xavier Cooper
The 49ers claimed defensive end Xavier Cooper, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Cooper missed the Browns’ cut on Saturday.
Cooper was a third-round pick of the Browns in the 2015 draft but never blossomed into the prospect that the team expected. In his rookie year, he had 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Last year, he finished out with 20 tackles and zero sacks while playing primarily on special teams.
The Browns didn’t have much room for Cooper after selecting Larry Ogunjobi and Caleb Brantley in this year’s draft. The 49ers, meanwhile, could use some additional defensive line depth after dropping Quinton Dial on Saturday.
Extra Points: Broncos, Ward, Dorsett
The Broncos did not discuss a pay cut with safety T.J. Ward before releasing him on Saturday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post tweets. “It was a football decision,” a team source tells her, adding that the motivation was to give more playing time to Justin Simmons and Will Parks. Meanwhile, Broncos players are upset about losing Ward and his locker room presence, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
While Ward searches for a new home, here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Colts had offers for Phillip Dorsett from other teams, but those proposed swaps involved draft choices instead of netting a young player at a positional need, Mike Lombardi of The Ringer tweets. Lombardi doesn’t name teams, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link) says the 49ers, Jets and Cardinals were among the teams that showed preliminary interest in him.
- The Jets are expected to be interested in running back Travaris Cadet now that he has been released by New Orleans, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Jets showed interest in Cadet during free agency but ultimately lost out.
- T.J. McDonald‘s new deal with the Dolphins has built in protections for the team that will override his guarantees if he has another suspension issue, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets. The pact includes $10MM in “guarantees,” but McDonald can’t slip up if he wants to collect on all of it.
- Wide receiver Victor Cruz says that he got a “clean bill of health” on his MRI this week, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. He’s now a free agent after being released by Chicago.
- Chiefs GM Brett Veach says veteran running back C.J. Spiller could still end up on the Chiefs’ roster (Twitter link via BJ Kissel of Chiefs.com). Spiller was among the Chiefs’ mass cuts on Saturday as they trimmed down to 53.
49ers Slash Roster To 53
The 49ers completed their wave of cuts and have reduced their roster to the regular-season limit. Here are the final cuts that moved the 49ers down to 53 players.
Released:
- NT Quinton Dial (story)
- CB Asa Jackson
- WR Jeremy Kerley (story)
- DT Sen’Derrick Marks
Waived:
- TE Blake Bell
- LB Austin Calitro
- WR DeAndre Carter
- OL JP Flynn
- TE Cole Hikutini
- QB Nick Mullens
- DL Noble Nwachukwu
- WR DeAndre Smelter
- OL Darrell Williams