Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the San Francisco 49ers drafted a player with an ACL tear that is struggling to stay healthy a year after the injury.
Well, if you stopped me, I’d have nothing else to say. Kentavius Street, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, is having some issues on the knee he tore up a year ago. In his Tuesday press conference, Kyle Shanahan said that Street was getting the same knee he injured last year scoped, making season-ending IR a very distinct possibility.
Street was getting praise at camp, and in Week 1 of the preseason, he made his presence known a couple of times. That’s better than some players have done during the Baalke regime. The fact remains: another player off a knee injury isn’t panning out.
So if Street hits injured reserve, who takes his spot? For all we know, this could be a “hangnail stash” meaning the 49ers could maybe get Street back by Week 3 but are instead stashing him for a year to keep someone else around. Either way, all signs point to Damontre Moore as the guy who can benefit from Street’s spot. The Athletic’s David Lombardi said best in that Moore’s edge presence was far more valuable at this point.
Some of you might be wondering what the best argument to keep Moore is. I have a simple but effective argument. He has a certain accolade that only so many 49ers players can achieve in a year. Moore was the KSWOF Player of the Game for Week 1 of the preseason. If saving us from overtime in the preseason doesn’t grant him a roster spot, I don’t know what does.
Of course, this opens up a chance for another position to take that roster spot as well. Maybe the 49ers use what would have been Street’s spot and burn it on a wide receiver. Considering both Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd are not a guarantee for Week 1, having an extra wide receiver around isn’t a terrible idea.
Who do you think benefits from Kentavius Street going to IR? Well, if it happens.