49ers place WR Marquise Goodwin on IR; sign LB Joe Alfieri to practice squad

Per Field Yates, the San Francisco 49ers have placed wide receiver Marquise Goodwin on injured reserve. The wideout was dealing with chronic knee and ankle pain, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan said the team was evaluating treatment options, but it appears that Goodwin should take care of the injury fully and not have to deal with it moving forward. Any ankle injuries for receivers are nothing to mess around with.

It’s been a disappointing season for the veteran receiver, who entered the season as a starter but could never fully get comfortable in this offense. Goodwin started the first six games of the season but saw his time dramatically decrease after his first target against Washington. Since Week 7, Goodwin has only been targeted five times. Goodwin played 33 snaps in four games. Goodwin had 12 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown in nine games.

Goodwin still has two years remaining on his contract. If the 49ers are to cut him before June 1, they will save $3.8 million against the cap. If Goodwin is on the roster in 2020, his cap number would be $3.9. If he’s cut during the spring of 2021, San Francisco will save $7 million.

Goodwin has been through so much off the field that it’s impossible to understand what he has gone through the past couple of years. Hopefully, he recovers fully from this injury and can contribute next year. One thing that needs to be mentioned is he continues to help the receivers out and be a positive influence around the team. When Emmanuel Sanders threw a touchdown pass, you could see Goodwin celebrating on the sideline with Sanders when he jogged off the field. He can still help the young receivers as both Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne will be relied on during big moments over the next, hopefully, month and a half.

The team also signed LB Joey Alfieri to the team’s practice squad after releasing WR Deontay Burnett and LB Christian Sam from the unit. The 49ers also placed LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles on the practice squad Injured Reserve List.

Alfieri (6-3, 239) originally entered the NFL after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2019. He was waived by Philadelphia on August 2, claimed off waivers by the New York Giants the following day and later waived by the Giants on August 31.

A 23-year-old native of Portland, OR, Alfieri attended Stanford University, where he appeared in 50 games (27 starts) and registered 165 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 14.0 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, six passes defensed and one touchdown. As a senior in 2017, he finished with 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery (returned for a touchdown) and three passes defensed.

Burnett (6-0, 186) was signed to the practice squad on October 16, 2019, Sam (6-2, 240) was signed to the practice squad on November 5, 2019 and Flannigan-Fowles (6-2, 210) was signed to the practice squad on September 1, 2019.