The San Francisco 49ers have announced the promotion of running back JaMycal Hasty from the practice squad, a move that head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday would be made before Sunday's game against the New York Giants.
"We should get Hasty up here sometime tomorrow, just so we have three (running backs) for the game," Shanahan said on Friday morning during a KNBR interview.
Hasty will wear No. 38.
San Francisco also promoted linebacker Joe Walker and center Hroniss Grasu from the practice squad. Walker will wear No. 59 while Grasu will wear No. 50. This is the third time Grasu has been promoted from the practice squad, which means he must be signed to the active roster and his practice-squad contract must be terminated.
Running back Tevin Coleman, who is dealing with a sprained knee, was placed on short-term injured reserve and is eligible to return before Week 6's matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. The running back suffered his injury during last weekend's win over the New York Jets.
Coleman appeared in each of the 49ers' first two games this season and registered 18 carries for 30 yards and three receptions for 34 yards.
The 49ers signed Hasty as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor in April. He did enough during training camp to impress his teammates and earn a spot on the practice squad.
"Hasty, he was one of the guys that everybody was talking about during training camp," linebacker Fred Warner said this past week. "He's got that twitch to him. His cuts are very decisive when he's running the football. He's not afraid to pass block and do those little things that go unnoticed.
"I'm excited to watch him. I think he's going to do a great job if he gets in there."
Hasty appeared in 45 games with 16 starts at Baylor and registered 386 carries for 1,998 yards and 15 touchdowns during that time. He also notched 79 receptions for 485 yards with a touchdown and recorded 16 kickoff returns for 333 yards on special teams.
In 2019, Hasty played in 14 games with three starts, rushing for 627 yards and seven scores on 109 carries. He added 25 receptions for 184 yards and six kickoff returns for 118 yards.
San Francisco initially signed Walker to a one-year deal in March. The Philadelphia Eagles made the linebacker a seventh-round selection out of Oregon in 2016. The Cardinals signed him from the Eagles' practice squad on September 19, 2018.
Walker registered 65 tackles and a forced fumble through 16 games and 11 starts with Arizona this past season. He has recorded 82 tackles, a pass defensed, and a forced fumble through his three NFL seasons. The linebacker spent his first NFL season (2016) on injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL during the preseason.
In addition to increasing NFL practice squads to 16 players this season, teams can protect up to four of those players each week from being signed to other rosters. San Francisco protected Hasty this past week.
NFL teams can also elevate practice squad players to the active roster up to 90 minutes before kickoff. Those players will return to their unprotected status after the scheduled game. Each NFL team can do this up to twice per player. As stated above, a third time requires the organization to terminate the player's practice-squad contract and sign him to the active roster.
