Well this has been an interesting twist of an evening. It looks like the San Francisco 49ers are going to the undrafted free agent well to get Humboldt State running back Ja’Quan Gardner.
Who is this guy? Well, considering he’s a running back and the 49ers got excellent production out of Alfred Morris, I suspect he’s a future practice squad candidate. The 49ers need bodies for the final preseason game and they don’t exactly have much at running back. Joe Williams is out with a rib fracture, Jeremy McNichols is Jeremy McNichols and there’s no way Kyle Shanahan is exposing Matt Breida or Jerick McKinnon to any possible avenue of injury.
So Gardner will get his chance to play and show his stuff, then he can be a good developmental prospect. He’s not making the team. Not when he’s coming in this late and when he’s had no time to learn Shanahan’s playbook.
Onto your links:
49ers expect to sign running back for preseason finale vs. Chargers (Maiocco)
After further review: Thoughts on 49ers’ preseason game vs. Colts (Biderman)
Projecting the 49ers’ 53-man roster (Almquist—KNBR)
Does Jimmy Garoppolo have an interception problem? Who makes the 49ers’ final roster? (Biderman—Sacramento Bee)
49ers notes: Kyle Shanahan singing a different tune when it comes to Joshua Garnett (Maiocco)
Alfred Morris adds power to 49ers’ hobbled running game (Cohn)
Must 49ers Pierre Garçon now resort to stealing passes? (Inman)
Jimmy Garoppolo: A lot of little details to fix up on offense (Pro Football Talk)
49ers 53-man roster projection entering final week of 2018 preseason (Maiocco)