Offensive guards are rarely selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
But in 2016, the 49ers took a leap of faith, drafting Joshua Garnett with the 28th overall pick out of Stanford University.
After starting 11 games in his rookie season, Garnett will not have the chance to match that total in his second NFL season. In fact, he won’t play in a single game.
On Saturday afternoon, the 49ers announced they have placed Garnett on injured reserve, which brings Garnett’s season to an end after he suffered a knee injury at the beginning of training camp.
1/ #49ers moves to get to 53-man roster: Guard Joshua Garnett (knee) goes on season-ending IR. He was a first-round draft pick in 2016…
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 2, 2017
49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan was optimistic in early August that Garnett would not miss a significant portion of the season, but after Thursday evening’s preseason finale, Shanahan said San Francisco was weighing its options with the player the 49ers projected to start at left guard.
It’s entirely possible that Garnett would have been healthy enough to recover in time to play during the latter half of the season, but Shanahan indicated Thursday that San Francisco planned on making the best long-term decision for Garnett’s health.
After missing the 2017 season, Garnett will have two years remaining on his rookie contract.
On Thursday, the 49ers acquired 2015 first round draft choice Laken Tomlinson from the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2019 fifth round draft pick. Tomlinson has starting experience, and is expected to challenge for a starting role at left guard.