San Francisco 49ers re-sign Jordan Matthews, place Jalen Hurd on IR

The San Francisco 49ers have re-signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews and placed rookie Jalen Hurd on the injured reserve due to lingering back issues.

The San Francisco 49ers‘ receiving core continues to battle injuries as rookie third-round pick Jalen Hurd has officially been placed on the injured reserve. In his place, the 49ers have re-signed veteran Jordan Matthews who spent the preseason with the team.

Hurd had been battling a back injury categorized as a “stress reaction” that he aggravated in the team’s first preseason game. That said, the 49ers were hopeful that they would see their young wideout return before long to make his NFL debut.

The plan was that Hurd would be ready to take the field by the time the 49ers returned from their bye week to take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 but that clearly will not be the case.

This comes as a pretty sizable blow to a 49ers receiving core already dealing with some depth concerns. Hurd is the second 49ers wideout to be placed on the injured reserve this season joining slot receiver Trent Taylor.

Fortunately, Taylor will be eligible to return in mid-to-late November if his foot injury is healed. As for Hurd, however, he won’t be eligible to return until at least Week 13 meaning that most of his rookie season will likely end up a wash.

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This is frustrating as the 49ers had high hopes for the big-bodied wideout. A former running back at Tennessee, Hurd had all the physical tools to be successful in the pros but he’s still in need of some refinement at the position.

But given how quickly he picked up his new position at Baylor, hopes were certainly high for him even in his rookie season. For that reason, this lost time is invaluable and it could stagnate his development.

For the time being, Matthews provides a solid veteran presence to a very young 49ers receiving core. In fact, aside from Marquise Goodwin, Matthews is the only wide receiver on the team over the age of 24.

The 27-year-old had his moments in the preseason and instantly becomes the second-most accomplished NFL receiver on the roster behind Goodwin — arguably the most accomplished.

He’s spent four of his five NFL seasons in Philadelphia with the Eagles racking up a total of 270 catches for 3,255 yards and 22 touchdowns.

However, the question now remains, will the 49ers make a move to acquire another receiver prior to the deadline?

The team has been connected to both Denver Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs and each would be an upgrade to their receiver core. Obviously, Diggs would be the more attractive target of the two.

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But for now, this is definitely a disappointing development for Hurd, but it’s at least nice to have a valuable veteran such as Matthews under contract once again.