Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Thad Lewis suffers torn ACL; Out for season
Aug 15, 2016 at 12:37 PM
•
San Francisco 49ers quarterback
Thad Lewis left Sunday's preseason matchup against the Houston Texans with what appeared to be a lower leg injury. It turns out that the injury was worse than originally thought. Ian Rapoport of
NFL Media is reporting that the 49ers backup quarterback suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
Lewis left the field with a noticeable limp and was eventually taken into the locker room for examination. He was announced as questionable to return. He was replaced by
Jeff Driskel for the remainder of the game. Following the game, head coach Chip Kelly didn't have any information on the injury and was unable to comment of the severity of it.
"He actually didn't think that he was hurt that bad, but we took him out and put Jeff in," said Kelly on Monday just moments after learning about the injury.
Kelly was asked if they would like to keep Lewis around to continue to learn with the team. "Yeah, we would like that with all of our players that are on injured reserve," answered Kelly. "We want to keep them around, keep them learning, keep them part of the team. Obviously they can't participate in practice, but they can still sit in on meetings. They can do the rehab working with [vice president of football operations Jeff Ferguson] Ferg and [director of human performance Mark Uyeyama] Uye. Get ready to go next year.
"I don't think this is a retirement thing for Thad by any stretch of the imagination and i'm just really disappointed for him because I thought he played well yesterday and was really starting to come on. But we would like him to stick around."
"He throws the ball really well and he's a smart and decisive quarterback so I thought once he settled down out there and got into a rhythm, he took us on two real good scoring drives," said Kelly when asked about Lewis' strengths. "One of them ended up with a field goal down in the red zone and obviously the other one ended up with a fumble in the red zone, but I thought he did a really good job of managing the team."
The 49ers now have two open spots on the roster. The team has not yet filled the roster spot left vacant by
WR Eric Rogers, who is also
out for the season with a torn ACL.
Lewis finished 12 of 21 for 97 yards passing. He was
signed to a one-year deal by the 49ers in March. Lewis played college football at Duke and was signed by the then-St. Louis Rams in 2010. He has also spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans.
Last year, he was with the Philadelphia Eagles, the former team of new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly. Over his NFL career, he has passed for 1,296 yards, five touchdowns, four interceptions, a completion percentage of 60.8, and a passer rating of 81.4.
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Ben Roethlisberger says 49ers reached out after Jimmy Garoppolo injury
The San Francisco 49ers made a call to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the 2022 season after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a broken foot. Despite rookie Brock Purdy stepping in and leading the team to a December 4 win over the Miami Dolphins, the 49ers understandably opted to look into all their options, including finding out if Roethlisberger might be interested in temporarily pausing his retirement.
"Last year, there were some truths to the Niners thing," Roethlisberger told Mark Madden at 105.9 The X,
49ers considered trading Mike McGlinchey last year
Mike McGlinchey received a life-changing payday, signing a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos. The offensive tackle has known for a while that he would not return to the San Francisco 49ers, the only NFL team he has played for and the one that made him the No. 9 overall pick in 2018.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear to McGlinchey that he was likely playing his final months for the team. There was too much money invested in other spots, and the 49ers knew they couldn't compete with other interested teams.
Behind the scenes, Lynch and Shanahan kept McGlinchey in the loop of what the team was thinking, and everything pointed to the tackle playing elsewhere in 2023 … maybe even
Sam Darnold on role with 49ers: "As long as we're winning games, that's the only thing that matters"
Sam Darnold is the newest San Francisco 49ers quarterback. He joins a quarterback room that includes third-year passer Trey Lance and second-year player Brock Purdy. The Niners are Darnold's third NFL team since the New York Jets made him the No. 3 overall pick in 2018. He spent the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, appearing in 18 games while starting 17.
Darnold felt that signing with the 49ers was an easy decision. He's excited about the opportunity to work with head coach and play-caller Kyle Shanahan and the other 49ers coaches.
The quarterback steps into a great situation, too. San Francisco undoubtedly has the most talented roster he has ever been a part of.
"Just excited to get started in this organization and get to work," Darnold
Why the 49ers checked the boxes for DE Clelin Ferrell
The San Francisco 49ers have to be an ideal landing spot for any player. The team has been to the NFC Championship three times and made a Super Bowl appearance in the last four seasons. For one free-agent defensive lineman, the Niners checked a lot of boxes.
"I think for me, I really just fell in love with the way that they play defense here," Clelin Ferrell said on Thursday, speaking with 49ers reporters for the first time.
Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek was a big draw too. Knowing the coach's background and success in bringing out the best in his players contributed to the decision to sign with the 49ers.
Ferrell added, "So it was just kind of checking that box, for sure."
The 49ers weren't the only team expressing strong interest
