There was a lot of excitement surrounding San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Jalen Hurd's preseason debut when he had three catches for 31 yards and two touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys.
Hurd didn't make a catch against the Denver Broncos and didn't suit up against the Kansas City Chiefs because of back problems. Hurd, along with receivers Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin, will sit out Thursday night's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan was asked on Tuesday if Hurd is in any danger of missing the 49ers' regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He didn't sound too confident about Hurd's chances of playing.
"I wouldn't have thought that a week ago, but it's still lingering," Shanahan responded. "It's definitely legit, so we're going to rest it here again this whole week, and then we'll probably reassess it on Monday and see where he's at."
Shanahan was also asked about Pettis' progress as he heads into his second NFL season. In case you weren't aware, the second-year receiver's name has been the subject of much discussion in recent days.
"He's going through what a lot of guys go through," Shanahan responded. "I know a lot has been talked about that the last couple of days and a lot has been said about the quote that I had on him. Dante's not in jeopardy of not making our team or anything, but we are still trying to find out a role for him, which, when you have a guy like Dante, it can be a compliment to him too.
"He's a guy who's capable of having any role on this team. He could be our best player on this team. He could be our best punt returner. He could be our No. 1 receiver, our No. 2 receiver, our slot receiver, or just a role receiver. He has the ability to do all of that, and he has shown that he can do all that, but he hasn't shown it consistently enough that we know exactly where to put him. That's really what I was trying to word there.
"I have been hard on Dante, but if anyone knows me, I am the hardest on the people I believe in, and I do believe in him a lot. And I am always going to be probably a little disappointed because I think he could be very good, and it's important to our team that he is."
Fans also shouldn't get their hopes up of seeing wide receiver Trent Taylor lined up with the offense come Week 1.
"We'll see if he's ready for Week 1 but highly unlikely," Shanahan said.
Taylor had surgery on August 9 to repair a fracture in his foot. A screw was inserted into the bone to repair the damage. Of course, this injury comes after Taylor spent most of last season dealing with the discomfort resulting from offseason back surgery.
"He was having a hell of a camp," Shanahan said on August 10. "It was disappointing to hear but fortunately, it won't be the year. I think it's about four weeks from Week 1. It's usually a four- to six-week injury, so we'll see how it goes."
