The 49ers seemingly lost a couple of bets on Thursday. The team held out hope that rookie wide receiver Jalen Hurd would heal up quickly enough from a back injury to where the team didn't need to consider injured reserve. That didn't happen.
On the same day the team sidelined Hurd for at least eight weeks, it placed cornerback Jason Verrett on injured reserve too.
Verrett was trying to return from a torn Achilles suffered in August of 2018. Despite his injury history, San Francisco gambled and signed him to a one-year deal in March. The upside on Verrett, after all, was high. Of course, he just needed to prove he could stay healthy.
An ankle injury during training camp delayed his return. Now, what head coach Kyle Shanahan referred to as a "flare-up" in his knee has landed the 28-year-old cornerback on injured reserve, and he cannot return until after Week 12.
Verrett has now landed on injured reserve in all but one of his six NFL seasons.
RELATED 49ers consulted spine specialists before deciding to place Jalen Hurd on IR, says John Lynch
General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Thursday and discussed what went into the decision to place Verrett on injured reserve.
"Obviously, we knew that when we [signed] Jason, that it was a risky proposition but one that could have a great upside," Lynch said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "We're not signing off on him. It's nothing like, 'We're done with him.' In fact, we're pretty encouraged. He came close. Unfortunately, I think probably right after the Cincinnati game, he started having some pain in there again, some irritation, and he's got a long history with that knee.
"Unfortunately, during a season, it's hard to get rid of that, and he just needed some time away to let that thing rehab.
"We're excited about the prospect of really ramping him up, and getting him back because he was starting to feel healthy enough to where he could hit those top speeds that an NFL corner -- I think if there's one position, you better be able to run at that position.
"I think he had gotten to a point where he was healthy, but now you've got to push yourself to get back to those top speeds. He was struggling in doing that, and we felt like that was the best course of action with him. But very encouraged about the future with Jason."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
