It was a busy day for former members of the San Francisco 49ers. ESPN's Field Yates reported that former 49ers running back Kendall Hunter conducted a workout this week with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Additionally, Lawrence Okoye signed with the New York Jets practice squad, according to the official NFL transaction wire.
The Okoye signing is intriguing because the Jets announced him as an offensive lineman. I am very curious to see how that pans out.
The 49ers have had a host of injuries at the running back position, but the team cannot re-sign Hunter. They agreed to an injury settlement earlier this year, but it was too far after he went on injured reserve. That made the 49ers ineligible to sign him this season. The Jaguars are sending out rookie T.J. Yeldon to lead a ground game that is decent but not particularly great.
The 49ers own ground game will be something to track next week against the Seattle Seahawks and beyond. Shaun Draughn started against the Atlanta Falcons, with Kendall Gaskins getting some work behind him. Pierre Thomas got four snaps, but was released and replaced by Travaris Cadet.
Jim Tomsula said Carlos Hyde's foot remains day-to-day with the stress fracture injury. He has had the last two weeks off, and the bye week will make it three. I kind of hope they do not play him against the Seahawks, particularly given how physical those games can often get. The first formal injury report will be next Wednesday, but the 49ers likely will get a practice in before then that might give us a better idea of Hyde's status.