San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jalen Hurd is entering his third NFL season. He has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.
Hurd spent the last two seasons on injured reserve. A back injury kept him out of his rookie 2019 campaign. The wideout suffered an ACL injury during training camp last year.
The 49ers like what they see in Hurd when he is available. He's just had some unfortunate luck at the start of his NFL career. But — knock on wood — Hurd reportedly looks good in training camp again, and the coaching staff hopes to finally get the former third-round pick on the field this season.
"Yeah, we've seen no setbacks," offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said after practice on Thursday. "Every time he's been on the field, we've been very pumped about that player at the wide receiver position. Really, it's been him needing to be available, and so far so good."
The team is being cautious with Hurd, given the injury that he sustained last summer. The receiver participates in warmups and individual drills with his teammates before heading to a side field to work with the performance staff, joined by others working their way back from injuries, like defensive ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford.
"I'd be surprised if they got into team drills within a week," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Tuesday. "But as soon as they're ready, they'll be out there."
San Francisco wrapped up its second day of practice and has 11 more to go before closing out training camp. As the 49ers seek to identify the third receiver on the depth chart, Hurd might be an interesting player to keep an eye on.