Marcus Lattimore likely to start season on non-football injury list

Last week, socalisteph put together a look at Marcus Lattimore's knee injury and the 49ers focus on his rehab. Lattimore has suffered a pair of brutal knee injuries, but he has vowed to battle back. After the draft, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged Lattimore's drive, but he also made it clear that the 49ers are not going to get Lattimore on the field until he is back at 100%.

Prior to that, I put together my first 53-man roster projection and mentioned Lattimore ending up on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. A day later, Matt Maiocco put together his early odds on the 53-man roster and he specifically mentioned the non-football injury list.

Although Lattimore suffered his injury on the football field, any injury before joining the 49ers is a non-football injury for the purposes of the NFL list. The 49ers used a similar designation for running back Jewel Hampton. I believe the designation has some financial impact because of it not being a "pro" injury, but I'm not positive.

Another player who could end up on this list is offensive tackle Luke Marquardt. He suffered a broken foot a week before the 2012 season, and had surgery shortly before the draft. Marquardt did not start playing offensive line until he arrived at Azusa Pacific, but he has the build to handle an offensive tackle role. Given the step up in competition at the NFL level, the 49ers will need some time to help him develop. A season on the injured list is not the worst idea in the world for Marquardt.