In advance of Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, both teams made several roster moves Saturday.
Perhaps the most significant is the 49ers placing tight end George Kittle on the reserve/injured list because of a calf injury. Kittle had been listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report and his absence officially removes another potential target for rookie quarterback Trey Lance, who will be making his first NFL start.
The Cardinals added three players to the active roster from the practice squad, but only one cornerback, Jace Whittaker. That could bode well for the status of cornerbacks Marco Wilson (ribs) and/or Antonio Hamilton (ankle), who were both listed as questionable Friday. The most worrisome is Wilson because his practice participation went down during the week from full on Wednesday to limited Thursday and with no participation Friday. Byron Murphy Jr. (ribs) was declared out Friday.
Whittaker was on and off the practice squad as an undrafted rookie in 2020 and played in four games while being inactive for one other. He has two tackles on defense and two on special teams.
Whittaker was elevated as a COVID-19 replacement for tight end Darrell Daniels, while tight end Ross Travis and guard Danny Isidora were standard elevations.
The 49ers signed wide receiver/kick returner Travis Benjamin from the practice squad and used standard elevations on quarterback Nate Sudfeld and tight end Tanner Hudson. With Jimmy Garoppolo out, Sudfeld will be the backup for Lance.
Sudfeld was the subject of some controversy in the final game of the 2020 regular season while with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants needed an Eagles loss against Washington to win the NFC East and make the playoffs, but then-Eagles head coach Doug Pederson had Sudfeld enter the game on the team’s first possession of the fourth quarter while trailing 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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