BRADENTON, Fla. -- The 49ers on Wednesday will open the practice window for defensive lineman Kentavius Street, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area.
The 49ers have an available roster spot after waiving kicker Chase McLaughlin on Tuesday, and Street could be activated to be available for the team’s Week 14 game at the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The addition of Street could come at a good time for the 49ers. The club is expecting to be without backup defensive tackle Jullian Taylor for multiple games due to an injury coach Kyle Shanahan described as “a ligament issue with his elbow.”
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Also, starting nose tackle D.J. Jones sustained an ankle injury on Sunday in the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and his status for Sunday’s game is uncertain.
Street, a second-year player, has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game after the 49ers selected him in the fourth round of last year’s draft out of North Carolina State.
The Athletic first reported the 49ers would be opening the practice window for Street.
Street sustained a torn ACL during a pre-draft workout with the New York Giants in the spring of 2018. He spent his entire rookie season on the non-football injury list. The 49ers placed Street on IR at the beginning of the 2019 season after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late-August.
San Francisco 49ers
Street showed some of his skills a week earlier during a preseason game Aug. 19 against the Denver Broncos, when he had five tackles and 1.5 sacks while playing 43 snaps. Street tried to play through his knee discomfort and tendinitis before the decision was made for him to undergo surgery.
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The 49ers can activate Street from injured reserve at any time, but he is permitted to practice with the club for up to three weeks before a decision must be made to activate him, release him or keep him on season-ending injured reserve.
Street (6-foot-2, 287 pounds) appeared in 51 games at North Carolina State with 35 starts in four seasons. He registered 123 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and six passes defensed in his college career.