The San Francisco 49ers might be facing a lost season from a win/loss perspective, but it provides a chance to assess some of their rookies. On Wednesday, the team got another rookie out on the practice field for the first team. Sixth round pick Marcell Harris, a safety out of Florida, had his practice window activated after opening the season on the Reserve/NFI list.
Harris suffered a torn Achilles in 2017 shortly before the start of what would be his final college season, and the 49ers grabbed him to stash for some length of time. It sounded like he might have been ready for the start of the season, but the 49ers were cautious and decided to sit him until they knew he would be 100 percent.
The NFI, PUP, and IR lists all provide for the team to open a practice window after a given amount of time. For NFI and PUP players, this is the first week they are allowed to practice. Those players cannot play right away, but players who start practicing early in the window can be activated to the 53-man roster as early as Week 9. The 49ers have a couple weeks to decide after Week 9, and would either have to shut him down for the year, activate him, or release him.
The 49ers have Adrian Colbert and Jaquiski Tartt playing safety, with D.J. Reed serving as a free safety backup and Antone Exum as a backup strong safety. They are options, but Harris brings solid size to the position. His scouting report is not big on his speed, but as a box safety and special teams player, the 49ers could figure out if they have a diamond in the rough.