Players placed on injured reserve after August 31 are eligible to return eight weeks after having the designation placed on them. For the San Francisco 49ers, that includes four players. They are defensive lineman Kentavius Street (knee), wide receiver Trent Taylor (foot), and now, wide receiver Jalen Hurd (back) and cornerback Jason Verrett (knee).
The problem is, only two can return from injured reserve, per NFL rules.
Street was placed on injured reserve on September 1 and will be the first player eligible to return. Taylor was placed on injured reserve on September 20. Both Hurd and Verrett landed on injured reserve on Thursday, and won't be available to return until after Week 12. Although, they could start practicing two weeks before that.
That leaves San Francisco with the tough choice of possibly bringing back Street and Taylor and sidelining Hurd and Verrett for the remainder of the season, or waiting for the possibility of either of the latter two returning.
Of course, the 49ers probably could have placed Hurd on injured reserve closer to the start of the season and might have gotten him back sooner, but that is a pointless discussion now. Head coach Kyle Shanahan sounded confident that Hurd was close to returning, and might have even been ready for Monday's matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
"I mean, he had a fracture in his back," Shanahan recently said. "A hairline deal, something. It's been a serious injury, that's why he had to rest it for about a month, and we're getting close to where he should be ready to go. Hopefully, it'll work out right for him. You never know when they come back out if that can act up again, but we feel it's healing up, and hopefully, he'll be able to come out here and help us."
That won't happen now.
The 49ers will reportedly replace Hurd by re-signing veteran wide receiver Jordan Matthews, who spent the offseason with the team.
Tackle Joe Staley and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, both of whom suffered lengthy injuries, are occupying roster spots. The 49ers opted not to place either on injured reserve with the hope that both could return before the eight weeks they would be forced to miss with the injury designation.
Staley suffered a fractured fibula on September 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals with an estimated recovery time of about six to eight weeks. The 49ers are hoping for the shorter estimate.
Witherspoon left San Francisco's September 22 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a foot sprain, and at the time, was expected to miss "at least a month," according to Shanahan.
So the 49ers will have to decide if they need Street or Taylor back sooner or want to wait for Hurd or Verrett. A lot of that will depend on where the former two are in their recoveries when their time to return approaches.