The San Francisco 49ers listed second-year wide receiver Trent Taylor as inactive for the team's Week 9 Thursday Night Football bout against the visiting Oakland Raiders. Taylor, who has been dealing with a back injury for much of the year, wasn't listed on the Niners' abbreviated injury report. So it's looking as if head coach Kyle Shanahan is exploring some of the other commodities he has on his roster.
The primary beneficiary? Most likely rookie wideout Richie James.
James, taken in Round 7 of this year's NFL Draft, has appeared in five of the 49ers' eight games so far, starting one of them back in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals when Taylor was out with an injury.
The rookie hasn't exactly seen a lot of action on offense after surprising during the preseason. Entering Week 9, James has just one catch for seven yards. Although he has been used on both punt and kick returns this season, logging five and eight returns in each respective category.
Meanwhile, Taylor's sophomore season has been a disappointment. While injuries have played a factor, the one-time college football leader in receiving yards has just 18 receptions for 138 yards in 2018 after posting 43 and 480, respectively, his rookie year.
James' presence could make things interesting for San Francisco, however, which will be starting Nick Mullens at quarterback, and Mullens has never taken a regular-season NFL snap.
The 49ers and Raiders kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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