Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
49ers place CB Jimmie Ward on IR, promote CB Prince Charles Iworah
Dec 20, 2016 at 12:54 PM
•
The San Francisco 49ers have placed
CB Jimmie Ward on injured reserve. Ward left Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and was eventually carted to the locker room for evaluation. To take the place of Ward on the roster, the team has promoted rookie
CB Prince Charles Iworah from the practice squad.
The 49ers have also announced that they have signed
CB Duke Thomas to the practice squad.
Ward becomes the 16th player that the 49ers have placed on injured reserve and the 4th in the past 24 hours. Late last month, the 49ers coaching staff praised Ward and went as far as to declare that he was the team's best cornerback.
49ers head coach Chip Kelly was asked why Ward was not moved to safety following the season-ending injury to
FS Eric Reid, a move that might have seemed natural given Ward's college experience. "We think Jimmie's our best corner," Kelly said. "I think that matchup, that he's our best corner and our best nickel. The ability to cover man to man in this league is first and foremost so if you ask anybody, 'What do you want when you're looking at the secondary?' Everybody wants a corner before they want a safety. We thought that's Jimmie's best position. We could move him to safety but we think we'd be really short changed out of the corner spot."
"I think Jimmie Ward's a corner in our system," said 49ers defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil the day before.
Ward started a career-high 10 out of 11 games played this season. He had 53 tackles, one interception, and a career-high 12 passes defended in 2016.
Iworah was selected out of Western Kentucky University by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent training camp with the team but was waived on September 3. The next day, the 49ers signed Iworah to the practice squad, where he has remained all season.
Thomas was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 6. He played college football at the University of Texas. Thomas was waived by Houston on September 8, signed to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad on October 11, and later waived on October 21.
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Podcast: 49ers OTAs Day 1 recap
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Jessie Naylor break down Day 1 of the San Francisco 49ers OTAs that was available to media.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our dedicated podcast page, on
Kyle Shanahan feels "really fortunate" with 49ers' QB room
Kyle Shanahan praises his quarterback room every year. Last season, the San Francisco 49ers went through three starting quarterbacks and still made it to the NFC Championship Game. Trey Lance was the Week 1 starter but suffered a season-ending ankle injury during his second game. Eleven weeks later, Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a broken foot.
That opened the door for rookie Brock Purdy to show his coaches and the NFL world that he belonged, despite being the last overall pick in the draft. Purdy guided the 49ers to eight consecutive wins before suffering a severe injury in that NFC title game matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two of the quarterbacks from last season—Lance and Purdy—remain. Both are just 23 years old. They are joined by Sam
5 position battles to watch for during 49ers OTAs
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
The San Francisco 49ers entered the offseason with several questions after key figures, such as Jimmie Ward, Mike McGlinchey, Samson Ebukam, and Charles Omenihu, departed in free agency, creating the possibility for position battles in organized team activities(OTAs) and training camp.
While several of the starting spots are solidified, there are still a few position battles to watch, as well as depth questions that could allow younger players to compete and take 53-man roster spots at the end of the offseason.
Let's break down some of those battles to watch and how they could play out for the 49ers, outside of the obvious competition at
Podcast: Questions that need to be answered during 49ers OTAs
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Suneil discuss the quarterback competition and position battles to watch during the San Francisco 49ers' OTAs.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
?feature=share
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our