San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Tuesday that veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk and veteran offensive lineman Vederian Lowe are both serious candidates to land on Injured Reserve at final cuts. This isn’t just a standard injury report; it’s a strategic move leveraging the NFL’s new IR rules.
The Injuries and Shanahan’s Playbook
Both Kirk and Lowe have been sidelined since the early days of camp, so it’s not a huge surprise to hear their names pop up. Kirk’s dealing with a calf strain, and Lowe’s working through a high ankle sprain. When asked if Kirk could start the season on IR, Shanahan was straight up: “Yes, possibly.” He then added, “We’ve got a number of guys like that, so we’ve got to see how that pans out here over the next few days.” And yep, he confirmed Lowe is definitely in that conversation too. This is Shanahan clearly thinking ahead.
The New IR Rules Are a Game Changer
Man, it used to be way tougher for teams when it came to putting players on IR. Before the rule change in 2024, if a player went on IR *before* final cuts, their season was basically over. That forced clubs into a tricky spot: put an injured player on the initial 53-man roster, then move them to IR just so they could open up that spot again. Now? Teams can put up to two players on IR at final cuts with a designation to return. Kirk and Lowe would fall right into that category. They’d be eligible to come back after just four weeks, and the best part is they wouldn’t even count against the 53-man roster at the deadline. That’s a huge advantage for roster flexibility.
The deadline for all NFL rosters to be trimmed from 90 players down to 53 is August 30 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time. We’ll find out then exactly how the 49ers will make these decisions on Lowe and Kirk. Shanahan’s playing chess, not checkers, and this new rule gives him some serious pieces to move around early in the season!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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