San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing might have had his ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment during the team’s Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Cowing, who won the starting punt returner job out of training camp, muffed a punt in the middle of the third quarter with the 49ers trailing 13-7. Cornerback Isaac Yiadom dove on the ball for the 49ers after a wild scramble, so the fumble by the rookie didn’t come off as a major gaffe.
While the muffed punt isn’t ideal, it wasn’t enough to move head coach Kyle Shanahan off the rookie returner. He told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s practice that the club still has confidence in Cowing.
“No, that’s one muffed punt,” Shanahan said. “Just when it comes to catching stuff, he’s been as natural of a catcher as we’ve had in our eight years here, just in practice, how he’s been in the games. I know that one got away from him, which we can’t have those. But everyone muffs one here and there. You just hope that was the end of it.”
Shanahan’s confidence in Cowing may wind up extending beyond special teams.
The fourth-round pick out of the University of Arizona could be a player the 49ers rely on to pick up some of the slack while wide receiver Deebo Samuel is out with a calf injury. Cowing has yet to make his debut on offense, but that may change with the team dealing with injuries to key contributors on that side of the ball.
