Practice marred by serious injuries
The 49ers, the most injured NFL team of 2020, appear poised to retain their title in 2021.
On Monday, the 49ers lost two potentially key backups to presumably seasonending injuries when offensive tackle Justin Skule suffered a torn ACL and safety Tarvarius Moore suffered a torn Achilles during a noncontact OTA practice. Those injuries occurred less than two weeks after running back Jeff Wilson suffered a torn meniscus when he was walking in the locker room.
The 49ers canceled Tuesday’s practice and scheduled media availability and had a “teambuilding activity,” a team spokesman said. There is a strong possibility the 49ers will cancel the rest of their offseason program, which was scheduled to end with next week’s threeday mandatory minicamp.
Skule, a 2019 sixthround pick who has made 12 fillin career starts, was the leading candidate to serve as the swing tackle behind starters Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey. He was expected to compete among a group that includes Shon Coleman for the spot.
Coleman opted out last year and hasn’t played since he suffered a severe leg injury during a 2019 preseason game. The 49ers also have versatile right guard Daniel Brunskill, who will vie with rookie secondround pick Aaron Banks to retain his starting position. Brunskill also has started games at tackle and center.
Other options are rookie Jaylon Moore and guard Colton McKivitz, a 2020 fifthround pick who played tackle at West Virginia. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Moore, a fifthround pick who played
tackle at Western Michigan, would play guard in the NFL, but Moore has been lining up at tackle during spring practices.
Meanwhile, Tarvarius Moore was serving as the firststring strong safety in OTA practices with starter Jaquiski Tartt rehabbing from toe surgery. Moore, a 2018 thirdround pick, has made 13 career starts between both strong and free safety, and also played cornerback in his career.
The 49ers signed strong safety Tony Jefferson, 29, on Monday, prior to Moore’s injury, and drafted USC strong safety Talanoa Hufanga in the fifth round. In March, they signed Tavon Wilson, 31, who has played both strong safety and free safety in his career. Last year, after Tartt was placed on injured reserve, Moore was moved from free safety to replace Marcell Harris, who had been the primary backup at strong safety since 2019.
Last year, the 49ers led the NFL with 34 injuredreserve transactions. A host of players were sidelined last Wednesday during an OTA practice that was open to the media. That group included wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk (groin), Richie James (hamstring) and Travis Benjamin (calf ), running back Raheem Mostert (knee), linebacker Nathan Gerry (Achilles), defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (shoulder) and Tartt and Harris (groin). All of those players are expected to be ready for training camp.
Pass rushers Nick Bosa (knee) and Dee Ford (back) are rehabbing away from the team facility.