Ameer Abdullah’s stay on the San Francisco 49ers’ active roster was brief as the veteran running back was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Monday after a rib issue sustained in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.
The 49ers, who signed Abdullah on July 31, inked running back Jeff Wilson Jr. and defensive lineman Trevis Gipson to one-year contracts on Monday. The team cut quarterback Tanner Mordecai and activated offensive lineman Andre Dillard from the physically unable to perform list.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins is expected to be out about a month due to a high ankle sprain and that former starting receiver Brandon Aiyuk (ACL) is estimated to return around Week 6 of the regular season, though the situation could change. Watkins, 23, was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Aiyuk, 27, is battling back from a serious right knee injury that included tears to the ACL and MCL. He was injured in Week 7 of last season and went on injured reserve, and he was placed on the PUP list on July 18.
Abdullah, 32, played in 16 games (three starts) for the Las Vegas Raiders last season and rushed 66 times for 311 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 40 passes for 261 yards and three scores. He took 410 offensive snaps (38 percent) and 192 on special teams (43 percent).
For his career, Abdullah has rushed for 1,994 yards and eight TDs and caught 203 passes for 1,468 yards and 11 scores in 141 regular-season games (26 starts) for the Detroit Lions (2015-18), Minnesota Vikings (2018-21), Carolina Panthers (2021) and Raiders (2022-24). The Lions selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft.
Gipson, 28, has played in 53 career games (19 starts) for the Chicago Bears (2020-22), Tennessee Titans (2023) and Seattle Seahawks (2024). His best season was in 2021 when he started nine of 16 games for the Bears as an outside linebacker and had career highs with seven sacks, 39 tackles, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Chicago picked him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
Wilson, 29, played the first four-plus years of his NFL career in San Francisco before spending the past three seasons in Miami.
The 2018 undrafted free agent rushed for 1,733 yards and 15 touchdowns with San Francisco, which traded the running back to Miami midway through the 2022 season.
Wilson ran for just 637 yards and three scores in Miami, appearing in only 19 games (no starts) over the past two years.
Mordecai, 25, spent last season on the 49ers’ practice squad.
Dillard, 29, was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019. He played in 69 games (19 starts) for the Eagles (2019, 2021-22), Titans (2023) and Green Bay Packers (2024) before signing with the 49ers in May. He went on the active/PUP list on July 18 for an undisclosed injury.
–Field Level Media
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