The San Francisco 49ers will be placing defensive end Tank Carradine on injured reserve, according to a report from the Sacramento Bee. Carradine left Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams with a high-ankle sprain.
Hearing #49ers defensive end Tank Carradine (high ankle sprain) will be placed on IR. Team can bring back two players from IR later in year.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 25, 2017
On Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Carradine's MRI came back "relatively clean" and that the injury would only force the 49ers player to miss four to six weeks. However, being placed on injured reserve remained a possibility for the defensive player.
The designation doesn't necessarily mean that Carridine's season is over. NFL teams are allowed to bring two players back from injured reserve later in the season.
Carradine has been one of those Trent Baalke ACL injury picks who the 49ers have gambled on in past years. While he didn't seem to live up to his potential coming out of college, the current 49ers coaching staff was high on him as a pass rusher.
"I think he's damn near an elite six-technique," said 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in August. "To be able to create pocket push from an edge, I think that's where his home is. There's no shame in that, I think he's pretty freaking good at it. That's where Tank's strength is. Will he get some inside rush? Yes ... But, as a six, dominating tight ends and being able to transition from run thought to pass on first and second down, I don't know if you'll find much better than that in the league."
The 49ers selected Carradine out of Florida State in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. During his time with San Francisco, he has played along the defensive line and at linebacker.
Since 2014, Carradine has 64 total tackles, five sacks, and a forced fumble. This season, he had seven total tackles and a sack.
