He also stated that he expects Smelter to play in preseason. It would be Smelter's first live NFL action of his career. After spending his rookie season recovering from surgery to repair his torn ACL, Smelter has remained an unknown commodity for the 49ers. Early on, he drew comparisons to former 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin, who is now with the Detroit Lions.
"Smelter's more of a week-to-week than a day-to-day," said Kelly on Monday. "With Smelter, I don't think we'll see him this week. Hopefully we'll get him back." The 49ers are in Denver this week to practice with the Broncos and then play against them on Saturday.
When asked if his injury was related to that of the one he was battling during the team's offseason program, Kelly stated that he was not sure what he was experiencing then and simply said, "I don't have an answer on that one."
Smelter was a fourth round selection out of Georgia Tech in 2015. In 2014, he had 35 receptions for 715 yards and seven touchdowns through 10 games at Georgia Tech. That's an impressive average of over 20 yards-per-catch. Smelter's 11-inch hands were the largest of his draft class and he has the size to be a physical threat at receiver for the team.
Baalke: WR DeAndre Smelter should be back in a week or two with lower-body injury. Expects him to play in preseason, not candidate for IR.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) August 17, 2016
DeAndre Smelter dealing with soft-tissue, lower-body injury but should play this exhibition season and IR not in discussion now, Baalke said
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 17, 2016
Baalke says he expects WR DeAndre Smelter (lower body) to play in the preseason. "Not even thinking IR at this point," he said. #49ers
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 17, 2016
