49ers Preemptively Place All Draft Picks On Injured Reserve

With the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers are ready to draft a player who will be the cornerstone of the franchise’s injured reserve roster for years to come, so it came as little surprise when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that the team is preemptively placing all 2021 draft picks on IR.

“The 49ers have spent all offseason only scouting redshirt players to find the best fit for their IR scheme,” Schefter said, adding that the franchise is willing to shell out a hefty contract to their top pick right away to build trust between the player and the team’s prestigious medical staff.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, a potential pick, said in an interview this week that he has been a lifelong fan of the 49ers training staff. “When Steve Young spent a season watching inside of an iron lung film inspired me to fall down over and over again, so yeah, it would be a dream come true to spend an entire season rehabbing my future ACL tear with a legend like Dr. Timothy McAdams.”

Schefter expects the 49ers to improve the interior of their IR and draft a left tackle later in the draft. Oregon State lineman Clay Rowan, who posted an impressive 4.9 concussion time last season, is a candidate, telling Schefter, “I want to be a cornerstone of the franchise’s neurological center for years to come.”

Team general hospital manager John Lynch typically looks for players who believe strongly in building a “wounded culture” inside of UCSF Medical Center, and he told Schefter that bruised linebackers and punished running backs are at the top of his patient list.

The team may also need to sign a new kicker. Last week, the 49ers signed undrafted Iowa State kicker Santos Alveras to the IR before he spontaneously combusted. Team doctors, however, gave Alveras the green light to start Week One, but it may conflict with Alvares’ funeral scheduled for that Sunday.