Another week, another round of reinforcements for the San Francisco 49ers.
Neither player appeared during the open locker room period, but new practice squad signees Matthew Judon (No. 43) and Dante Pettis (No. 15) already had their lockers in place on Wednesday. And both players took to the practice field.
Pettis, a receiver, and Judon, an edge rusher, worked in with their respective units during position drills, two spots that have been decimated by injuries. So decimated, in fact, that Pettis and Judon have non-zero chances to be active on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
Niners fans will surely remember Pettis, a former second-round pick who spent the first 2½ years of his career with the franchise before being waived in 2020. His first stint did not work out well, of course, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said he was “pumped” that Pettis remained available on the free agent market. Shanahan did not appear to be a huge fan of Pettis’ abilities during his first stint with the team, yet he downplayed any prior issues on Wednesday.
Asked about how they left things, Shanahan said: “Fine. There was no relationship issue. That was just how it worked out. People get confused sometimes with saying people are in the doghouse. … People sometimes get that confused with just coaching. But I’ve always loved Dante. Dante’s a great dude. He’s got a lot of abilities, done some great things since we let him go other places.”
In fact, Shanahan added, San Francisco attempted to sign Pettis during this year’s training camp as they dealt with a handful of wide receiver injuries.
“Tried it again this time,” Shanahan said, “and this time it worked out.”
If Mike Evans (ribs) – who did not practice Wednesday – misses Sunday’s game against the Broncos, there is still no guarantee Pettis reaches the active roster. He would need to supplant one of these five receivers to be active on game day: Deebo Samuel, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, KhaDarel Hodge and, likely, Brandin Cooks, who remains on the practice squad but figures to have a strong chance to suit up eventually. Worth noting: Hodge missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury, so that could bode well for Pettis’ chances of being up.
“A fellow 2018er!” linebacker Fred Warner said of Pettis, referring to the year both players got drafted. “It was getting lonely. … Great to have him back. Good buddy of mine. Fits right in.”
Injury developments:
Not on the practice field Wednesday, in addition to Bosa and Hodge: T Trent Williams (neck), Evans (ribs), RB Christian McCaffrey (rest) and DT James Thompson Jr. (ankle). Defensive ends Romello Height (hand) and Mykel Williams (knee) returned to the practice field in limited capacity. Height missed all of last week after breaking his hand against the Miami Dolphins, while Williams had his 21-day practice window opened after beginning the season on the physically unable to perform list.
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This article originally published at 49ers practice squad signees Matthew Judon, Dante Pettis could play Sunday.
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