Isaac Bruce started the first six games of the season for the San Francisco 49ers. He might spend the final six games of the season on the inactive list.
Bruce will be listed as inactive for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, and although his lingering ankle injury is part of the reason, the bigger reason is just that the 49ers have moved on to other players.
“I had a good long talk with Isaac, and he was a champion about it,” 49ers coach Mike Singletary said, per Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News. “So going forward, this is the best thing for our team and gives us the best chance to win.”
The 37-year-old Bruce led the 49ers with 835 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns last season, but this season he has begun to show his age, and he has just 21 catches for 264 yards. With the emergence of Michael Crabtree as the team’s No. 1 receiver, combined with a roster featuring multiple young receivers who can contribute on special teams, there just isn’t room on the active game day roster for Bruce anymore.
Bruce, who was a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1994, is second in NFL history in receiving yards, fifth in catches and ninth in receiving touchdowns. But we may be seeing the end of a great career.
