49ers place WR Tavon Austin on the injured reserve

The San Francisco 49ers have placed wide receiver Tavon Austin on the injured reserve.

The San Francisco 49ers‘ injuries continue to pile up at the wide receiver position — this time in the form of veteran Tavon Austin.

Austin was signed by the 49ers last month after a slew of injuries in the team’s receiving corps. Unfortunately, the former first-round pick has now joined the growing list of 49ers receivers to be sidelined with injuries.

And this one appears to be season-ending.

San Francisco officially placed Austin on the injured reserve on Thursday with a knee injury essentially ending his brief tenure with the team. In the two weeks or so that he was in the Bay, he actually fared quite well.

Austin made a strong first impression and was having a very successful camp, all the while making a strong case for a roster spot. Given plenty of reps due to the large number of injuries, Austin made the most of his touches.

But now, he’ll fall to the wayside just like so many others before him.

Tavon Austin joins the long list of injured 49ers wide receivers.

Deebo Samuel sat out of practice again on Thursday with his broken foot and the same goes for first-round rookie Brandon Aiyuk who continues to miss time with a hamstring injury.

They were joined today by Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor who both sat on the sidelines, although the latter was possibly for rest purposes.

It wasn’t all bad news, however, as Richie James practiced for the first time this summer after breaking his wrist a couple of months ago. And ideally, he’ll pick up where Austin left off.

Austin saw the majority of his reps in the slot and as a returner — two roles that James typically fills. So from that perspective, perhaps the 49ers aren’t losing much in the short-term.

Other 49ers receivers who have been placed on the injured reserve since camp started include the likes of Jalen Hurd and J.J. Nelson — both of which were also ruled out with knee injuries.

Nelson was one of three veteran wideouts the team originally signed last month to combat their growing list of injuries alongside Austin and Jaron Brown. Just over two weeks later, none of them remain on the active roster.

With a little over a week to go before Week 1, the 49ers will look to get healthier in time for the regular season.