Jalen Hurd got some nasty news on Monday, and unfortunately that has been an all too frequent occurrence for the 49ers receiver.
The former fullback missed the last five games of his junior season in Tennessee due to injury, and then sat out the entire following season after being transferred to Baylor. He capitalized on his lone season at Waco, playing in 12 games while showing real commitment as a receiver, enough that the 49ers made him a third round pick to play for that position in the pros.
He immediately delivered on that promise, picking up two touchdowns in his preseason debut with San Francisco. But that was a short life period of excitement, as he underwent a tension fracture in his back at training camp and missed the rest of the season.
Hurd has spent all of the offseason working his way back from that injury and was seen in his second professional season as a potential breakout candidate. He wrote rave reviews from various teammates, and coach Kyle Shanahan was keen to satisfy the enormous and versatile receiver in his misdeeds.
Then, on Sunday, Hurd fell into a heap while training on a side field. As fear was, his agent confirmed Monday night that Hurd tore his ACL, ending his 2020 season before it began.
That’s a huge blow for the 49ers, and you should feel for Hurd. Injuries are an inherent part of football, but the 24-year-old has had terrible luck.
“It’s a very sad thing for him,” Shanahan said Monday. ‘We know what he went through with his back last year. The man has worked as hard as anyone on our team to get back. For him to get hurt before he actually had to get out of there, just a freak thing in the air, cutting. Feels really bad for the boy, but he’s coming back next year. ”
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Now that it has been confirmed that Hurd will miss next season, this means he only appeared in 19 games in the last five years. By comparison, the 49ers played 19 games en route to and including Super Bowl LIV last year.
As Shanahan said, Hurd remains part of the 49ers’ plans. But unfortunately for all involved, he will not be able to play for them as soon as possible.
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