Dante Pettis’ return to the San Francisco 49ers barely got off the ground before a calf injury shut it down.
The team placed the wide receiver on injured reserve after he made it through just one practice in his latest stint with the club, a frustrating twist for a player trying to carve out another path back in San Francisco. Pettis had rejoined the 49ers practice squad after his premature dismissal from the squad back in 2020, but the comeback window closed almost immediately.
To make room, San Francisco signed wide receiver Xavier Smith to the practice squad.
Pettis’ second run with the 49ers was always going to carry some baggage after the 2020 split, but both he and Kyle Shanahan said there was no bad blood between them. Even so, the ending is a tough one. The organization may still keep Pettis around the facility in some kind of support role for the younger pass catchers currently on the roster.
Pettis, who will soon be 31, entered the league as a second-round pick out of Washington in 2018. His rookie year gave San Francisco plenty to build on, with 27 catches for 465 yards and five touchdowns. But his role shrank the next season, and by 2020 he was waived before bouncing around the league and eventually returning to the Bay Area ahead of Week 4 last September.
In a normal setup, Pettis might have had a path back to the active roster once healthy. The 49ers’ injury situation hasn’t been normal, though. Their IR list is already packed with players carrying return designations, which is also why San Francisco chose not to place defensive end Nick Bosa on IR with a calf injury.
For now, Pettis’ reunion with the 49ers is over before it really started.
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