49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan cleared up a small mystery from the second preseason game. Rookie wide receiver managed to play only eight snaps against the Broncos on Monday night. That outing came on the heels of a two-touchdown performance in his preseason debut. It turns out back tightness was the culprit for his limited availability.
Shanahan told reporters Tuesday in a conference call that the rookie third-round pick dealt with back tightness in practice leading up to the showdown in Denver. The pain didn’t subside during the game and he was pulled.
It’s not a surprise the 49ers’ conservative training staff treated back tightness with such caution. Hurd’s had a good camp according to reports and showed off a multifaceted skill set with two scores against Dallas in Week 1 of the preseason. There’s not a ton Hurd can gain from trying to play through back tightness.
Shanahan said Hurd could’ve gone if it was a regular season game, but a truncated schedule with three games in 10 days meant keeping Hurd out of Monday night’s action.
San Francisco wants to ensure they have a healthy roster for Week 1 of the regular season, and they’ll happily sacrifice preseason snaps to make that happen.
