Vernon Davis undergoes MRI on ankle, 49ers sign tight end to practice squad

The San Francisco 49ers might be considering their options at tight end as injuries have potentially taken a bite out of their depth chart. Aaron Wilson is reporting the 49ers are expected to sign tight end Xavier Grimble to their practice squad. He joins Asante Cleveland as the second tight end on the practice squad.

This news comes a day after Vernon Davis and Vance McDonald both suffered injuries against the Chicago Bears. Davis rolled his ankle while being tackled from behind. After the game, Davis was seen using crutches, and on Monday morning, Jim Harbaugh said he was getting an MRI on his ankle. There has been no word on the severity of the injury.

Vance McDonald injured his knee in the second quarter of the game, and was declared questionable to return. McDonald did return in the third quarter. PFF had him for 8 snaps in the third quarter, but then none in the fourth quarter. There is no word on McDonald's status, and at this point we probably will not hear anything until Wednesday.

Given that Cleveland was already on the practice squad, this could just be an insurance move, or it could mean Davis or McDonald is a question mark for Sunday. The 49ers return to practice on Wednesday. Jim Harbaugh will chat before hand, and I doubt we get much out of him on Grimble or the injured tight ends. The 49ers will release their first participation report Wednesday afternoon.

Grimble went undrafted this past May, and then signed with the New York Giants as a UDFA. According to Grimble, he received a call from the 49ers back after the draft, but decided on the Giants. He was waived in late August, and the 49ers get another shot at him.

The former USC tight end sounds like a guy who has the frame to be a big tight end, but needs to add some bulk. He is described in an NFL.com report as "could use more glass in his diet", which I understand to mean needs to get tougher. Here are some scouting reports:

NFL.com
CBS Sports
Draft Insider
Draft Breakdown video
5 things to know about Grimble