The San Francisco 49ers have placed guard Joshua Garnett on season-ending injured reserve, according to multiple reports. The decision had not yet been made following Thursday night's 23-13 preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan first wanted an opportunity to sit down and discuss the options with Garnett.
"I haven't got a chance to talk to Josh personally," Shanahan said Thursday night. "So, we're going to talk about the different options and what it means to him this year, what it means to him next year and all that."
On Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Garnett will miss at least the first month of the 2017 season. The second-year player injured his knee during a training camp practice and had surgery on August 10 to "clean out" the knee.
"We had to clean some stuff up in there and we know how long it takes to heal," Shanahan continued. "But, it's how long it takes to recover."
Initially following the injury, the 49ers were hopeful Garnett might be available for their Week 1 regular season home game against the Carolina Panthers, but head coach Kyle Shanahan later said that it would be "a battle" for him to return in that timeframe. Garnett was the 28th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and started 11 games for the 49ers as a rookie last season.
One move that gives the 49ers a little bit of flexibility was the trade for Detroit Lions offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson, which took place on Thursday morning.
"We know we wanted to get a guard in here that has played," Shanahan said of Tomlinson. "We saw him coming out of college. He's a guy who definitely has a lot of talent. Hasn't reached it all yet in this league. But, want to give him a new start and we think he can come in here and help us."
The other 49ers players headed to injured reserve are receiver Aaron Burbridge, defensive lineman Chris Jones, defensive back Don Jones, and rookie running back Joe Williams.