CJ

West

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said West suffered a bone chip in his knee. The injury will require surgery. He is expected to return this season. The 49ers correspondingly signed DT Naquan Jones to the active roster and DT Viliami Fehoko to the practice squad, and released CB Jakob Robinson.

49ers starting QB Brock Purdy (toe/left shoulder) has been cleared to play, so Jones has been put back into the No. 2 spot. He played admirably in his two starts, completing 53-of-80 passes for 563 yards, four touchdowns and one interception and rushing seven times for five yards despite aggravating a summer PCL sprain in Week 3. For fantasy managers in two-quarterback leagues with no one better to stash, he can be left on the bench this week to see how Purdy’s health holds up. For everyone else, he can be dropped. The 49ers also ruled out WR Jordan Watkins (calf) and DT CJ West (thumb). FB Kyle Juszczyk passed the NFL’s concussion protocol and will be active for Week 4 against the Jaguars.

Shanahan said West’s ACL appears to be intact after undergoing initial tests, saying West suffered an injury similar to that of DL Mykel Williams. The team used fourth- and first-round picks on West and Williams, respectively, this offseason.

West (6’1/316) honed his craft at Kent State for the first four years of his collegiate tenure, starting 12 contests with 40 tackles, 7.0 TFLs and 80th+ percentile grades in both the run and pass phases of the game. He transferred to Indiana last year and continued to ascend with 7.5 TFLs, a 11.4-percent run stop rate and an elite 88.1 run defense grade. He blazed a 4.95s 40-yard dash (88th-percentile) with a 33” vertical (93rd-percentile) and 28 bench reps (76th-percentile) for an excellent 9.16 RAS. His lack of height and length is offset by West’s quick first step, high motor and lateral agility. He’s always grinding to get off blocks and working counters to shoot gaps and stuff run plays. His sawed-off proportions make it difficult for him to beat blockers to first contact on the rush, but he’s able to hold ground and disengage to make plays in run support. West has early down rotational potential if he can cut down on his 17.6-percent career missed tackle rate.