After the deadline to cut down rosters to 53 players on Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers are tasked with more business like finalizing the practice squad and adding players to the injured reserve.
After suffering a shoulder injury in the preseason, Danny Gray’s season will begin on the injured reserve according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. With Gray hitting the IR, the 49ers will have an open roster spot to add either veteran defenders Austin Bryant or Kerry Hyder to the active 53-man roster, per Barrows.
Buy 49ers TicketsVia @mattbarrows on Twitter:
Danny Gray (shoulder) will go on IR to begin the season. He'll open up one spot for Kerry Hyder/Austin Bryant. Shanahan not quite ready to report who the other IR'ed player is.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 30, 2023
With both Gray and Ray-Ray McCloud dealing with injuries, the 49ers depth at wide receiver will be thin to start the season. Outside of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers will need to lean on rookie Ronnie Bell. Veterans Willie Snead IV and Chris Conley could be available via the 49ers practice squad.
In his rookie season, Gray recorded one catch for 10 yards on seven targets over 85 snaps with the 49ers. The 49ers drafted Gray in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft out of SMU.
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