The San Francisco 49ers on Monday made a seemingly innocuous roster move when they signed cornerback Eli Apple and released wide receiver Quintez Cephus.
Cephus signed the previous Thursday after WR Jacob Cowing went down with a hamstring injury the previous day. That San Francisco let Cephus go to clear a roster spot for Apple could be a good sign for injured WR Jauan Jennings.
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Jennings left Sunday’s practice with a calf injury, which is a scary injury considering that those ailments can lead to issues in the surrounding areas.
However, the 49ers’ willingness to let a WR go could mean Jennings’ prognosis isn’t too bad. He missed Monday’s session, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team likes to carry 12 WRs for training camp. With the Cephus release the 49ers are down to 10 healthy WRs. That’s not a number they’re likely to carry for too many practices, particularly with joint sessions with the Denver Broncos looming ahead of their preseason opener on Aug. 9.
There’s always a chance the 49ers just didn’t like what they saw from Cephus and instead will add another WR before taking the field Tuesday. Until they do that, the move to drop a WR makes it look like the club isn’t worried about a long-term issue with Jennings.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers roster move may be good news for Jauan Jennings’ calf injury