The 49ers got a double whammy of injuries on Monday. During practice, offensive Justin Skule tore his ACL. And, soon after, safety Tavarius Moore went down with a ruptured Achilles (Twitter link via Matt Barrows of The Athletic).
Skule’s injury will rule him out for 2020. It’s a bad blow for the former sixth-round pick, who was competing to serve as a top backup behind Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey. With Williams out of practice, Skule was practicing with the first-string team, a promising sign that he’d make the cut and return for his third season. Instead, he’ll go under the knife, rehab, and switch his focus to 2022.
Moore, meanwhile, has at least some chance of returning later in the year. Similar to Skule, Moore had been practicing with the starters while Jaquiski Tartt deals with a toe ailment. Fortunately, the 49ers do have Tony Jefferson on hand. The veteran — who once inked a four-year, $34M contract in free agency — agreed to a low-cost deal with SF earlier this week. Now, he’s the odds-on favorite to serve as the No. 3 safety on the team, behind Tartt and Jimmie Ward.
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