The San Francisco 49ers pass defense could be getting a reinforcement. The team formally opened the 21-day practice window for rookie cornerback Will Redmond, according to the 49ers beat writers. He will not count against the 49ers roster yet, and the earliest the team can bring him back is after Week 8 comes to an end. The 49ers have a Week 8 bye, so that means Redmond would be eligible to play as soon as Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints.
The team placed him on injured reserve the Monday after final roster cuts as he continued his return from his ACL injury. He played in the latter half of the preseason, but the team clearly wasn’t comfortable getting him into regular game action.
Back on September 7, defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said he believed at the time that the plan was to bring Redmond back to the 53-man roster. His return to practice comes the same day brief nickel back Chris Davis had surgery for his own knee injury. If this season continues going south, it makes all the sense in the world to get Redmond out there and getting valuable reps as a rookie. If his knee is not fully back after three weeks, so be it. But if he’s healthy, it would be foolish not to get him some playing time.
Right now, the 49ers cornerback depth chart includes Tramaine Brock on one side and either Jimmie Ward or Rashard Robinson on the other side. Ward is back warming up at practice on Tuesday, while Robinson is in the concussion protocol. When everyone is back healthy, the 49ers could actually have some intriguing cornerback depth. Ideally everyone remains healthy and we get to see exactly how the team plans on shuffling the deck.