The San Francisco 49ers announced they have promoted linebacker Eric Kendricks to the active roster from the team’s practice squad. To make room for Kendricks, linebacker Tatum Bethune was placed on the Injured Reserve List.
Linebacker Kyzir White was added to the practice squad. The 49ers also signed linebacker Milo Eifler to a Reserve/Future contract. The team worked out White and Eifler on Tuesday, per the NFL’s transaction wire.
White will contribute in the playoffs in some capacity. We went over his history and production with the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday. How quickly White can get up to speed will determine how much he can contribute on defense and special teams.
We’ll learn more about Dee Winters and Luke Gifford later on Wednesday when Kyle Shanahan has the first injury report of the week. As of now, Kendricks, Garret Wallow, and Curtis Robinson are the only healthy options at linebacker on the active roster.
Eifler is cut from the right kind of cloth. He went to Illinois and was on the same defense as Devon Witherspoon and Kerby Joseph. The Illini play a certain way under their defensive coordinator, making Eifler an intriguing name to keep an eye on next training camp. He’s undersized at 228 pounds. But his athleticism suggests Eifler is the type of athlete you want on special teams.
The 49ers also opened wide receiver Jacob Cowing’s practice window. Speaking of athleticism, the 49ers could use somebody who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at wide receiver. There are enough examples throughout the league that a player of Cowing’s build can excel.
Shanahan spoke highly about Cowing this past offseason, expressing optimism in his second-year wideout after a strong offseason. It’s been setback after setback with Cowing, dating back to his preseason as a rookie. Even then, Shanahan sounded like a coach who could see something in Cowing. Here’s an excerpt from September 2024:
He had a rough start. Hurt his hamstrings in OTAS. Then re-doing it in training camp. Then doing it again. I don’t think it was his hamstring twice, but he had another setback. So it took him a while to get in. We needed to see him in games, because he was rusty in practice, as he should be, being a rookie and all those things.
But once we saw him in those games, it was like the guy we studied on tape. He’s great with the ball in his hands. He plays very physical for a smaller guy. The speed was obvious. The coolest thing is the game wasn’t too big for him. He seemed comfortable with the punt returns. Comfortable in our offense. He’s been great. We’re trying to get him more reps. He definitely belongs here.
If Cowing knocks off the rust, he could be a much-needed contributor in an offense that could use all of the wide receiver help it could get with Ricky Pearsall’s current status.
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