Quinton Patton injury update: Jim Harbaugh says it is a foot fracture

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh provided us with an update on Quinton Patton's injury. The wide receiver has suffered a fracture in his foot and will be out for an undetermined stretch of time. Coach Harbaugh used the word "metacarpal" when he called it a fracture, but I believe he might have meant "metatarsal". The metacarpal bones are in the hand, while the metatarsal bones are in the foot.

We'll get an update on the specifics, but I did some googling to see what this might mean. Two websites, including NIH.gov indicates as much as 6-8 weeks of recovery. His foot will be immobilized for a stretch and he has to avoid weight-bearing initially. That being said, it's not any sort of "devastating" injury. Harbaugh did say the team could keep Patton on the 53-man roster, as opposed to placing him on injured reserve. This stinks for the General's Bandwagon, but it's not the end of the world.

Whatever the length of time Patton is out, I imagine Jon Baldwin would be the primary beneficiary in terms of playing time. The beat writers were saying last night that it appeared Quinton Patton was moving into the second wide receiver spot, at least in terms of total snaps. Unfortunately the injury will slow that progress,. We'll see if Baldwin takes advantage of this opportunity.

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