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Ahead of Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, the two teams made several roster changes on Saturday.
Perhaps most importantly, the 49ers put tight end George Kittle on the reserve / injured list due to a calf injury. Kittle had been listed as questionable in Friday’s injury report and his absence officially removes another potential target for rookie quarterback Trey Lance, who will make his first NFL start.
The Cardinals have added three players to the training squad’s active roster, but only one cornerback, Jace Whittaker. This could bode well for the status of cornerback Marco Wilson (ribs) and / or Antonio Hamilton (ankle), both of whom were listed as questionable on Friday. Most worrying is Wilson because his practice participation declined over the week from full Wednesday to limited Thursday and no participation Friday. Byron Murphy Jr. (ribs) was ruled out on Friday.
Whittaker was on the practice squad as an undrafted rookie in 2020 and played four games while being inactive for each other. He has two tackles on defense and two on special teams.
Whittaker was bred as a COVID-19 replacement for tight end Darrell Daniels, while tight end Ross Travis and goalkeeper Danny Isidora were standard elevations.
The 49ers signed the practice team’s wide receiver / kicker Travis Benjamin and used standard elevations on quarterback Nate Sudfeld and tight end Tanner Hudson. With Jimmy Garoppolo absent, Sudfeld will be Lance’s replacement.
Sudfeld was the subject of controversy during the final game of the 2020 regular season with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants needed an Eagles loss to Washington to win the NFC East and advance to the playoffs, but then Eagles head coach Doug Pederson brought Sudfeld into the game during the team’s first possession in the fourth quarter while being led 17-14 under the guise of seeing what they had in the young quarterback. He completed 5 of 12 passes for 52 yards and Washington won 20-14.
Pederson was fired after the season, while Sudfeld became an unrestricted free agent in March and signed with the 49ers on April 7.
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