The San Francisco 49ers will announce their final cuts Tuesday.
Part of those moves will include placing a couple of players on Injured Reserve. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported Tuesday that offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and defensive lineman Kalia Davis will both begin the season on IR for San Francisco.
Both Feliciano and Davis suffered knee injuries during the preseason that required surgery. They’re both expected to miss about half the season, and their placement on IR was also anticipated.
Thanks to new NFL rules, the 49ers won’t need to place either one on the 53-man roster.
Previous NFL rules required injured players to land on the 53-man roster before being placed on IR. An IR placement before final cuts would ostensibly end that player’s season.
Now, teams are allowed to place up to two players on IR before final cuts with a designation to return. They’re still required to miss at least four weeks before returning to action, but they don’t need to take up two spots on the 53-man roster.
That opens the door for San Francisco to keep replacements for both instead of subjecting players to waivers and potentially losing them to other clubs.
Feliciano when he returns should provide good veteran depth on the interior of the 49ers’ offensive line. He could wind up in a starting role as well depending on how things are going with center Jake Brendel and rookie right guard Dominick Puni.
Davis figures to add depth to the defensive tackle rotation where San Francisco is a little bit thin. He was having a strong training camp before going down with his injury in the first preseason game.
