A forgotten name to many, former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jalen Hurd is making a return to the NFL. Hurd has never played in NFL regular season games, despite high hopes in the preseason that he was drafted. He was riddled with injuries and never got his shot. San Francisco drafted the wide receiver in round three of the 2019 NFL draft. The 49ers ended up having to release him before he could get a shot. Now, it was announced that Hurd signed with the New England Patriots. Here is a look back on what happened to Hurd, and a look at his attempt to return.
Jalen Hurd Injuries
Former 49ers WR Jalen Hurd – AP Photo/Josie Hurd
Following a great preseason in 2019, Hurd never got his chance to play due to a back injury. While nothing can be predicted based just on the preseason, fans did have high hopes for Hurd. After missing many games, he was placed on the injured reserve and never played in the season. Back injuries are definitely no joke, but the hope was that he would be good by the 2020 season. Hurd began 2020 at training camp. That summer, he ended up tearing his ACL and was out for the season.
Come 2021, this was seen as Hurd’s final chance. He was once again placed on the injured reserve because of a knee injury and was released that same year. It is a shame that Hurd could never play a single regular-season game. He is a 6-5 receiver, and at the time, the team needed a player who was taller. It was clear once 2021 hit that Hurd would not be getting his shot with the 49ers.
Former 49ers WR Jalen Hurd – Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle
Jalen Hurd to the Patriots
While 2021 does not seem so long ago, unless you are a 49ers fan, or a Baylor and Tennessee college football fan, the odds are Hurd is a name you have not heard of since the 2019 NFL draft. It has been a long time since even 49ers fans truly discussed Hurd. This was until it was reported that the Houston Texans gave the wide receiver a workout. Hurd rarely even posts on social media, which is okay for a player to do, but led the general public to not know any updates regarding the wide receiver.
As stated, the Texans were the first team to give Hurd a workout, which was confirmed by Ari Meirov on Twitter. On Monday, July 24th, Hurd also had a workout with the New England Patriots, reported by Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed on Twitter. Hurd ended up signing a deal with the New England Patriots on Monday evening. The Patriots are taking a chance on Hurd, and hopefully, this time, it will work out well for him.
Former Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd (1) – Bryan Lynn/USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Hurd College
Hurd played for two schools during his collegiate career. First, Hurd attended Tennessee for three years before transferring to Baylor, where he played for one year. While at Tennessee, he was utilized more as a running back, and then at Baylor, he played as a wide receiver. In his one year at Baylor, Hurd had 946 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns, according to Sports Reference. Altogether, in four years of collegiate football, Hurd had 2,844 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns, as well as 1,438 receiving yards and ten touchdowns.
Aside from his stats, it should be noted that the season he played the least amount of games was in 2016 at Tennessee. He played in just seven games. Hurd was also notably the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2018, as well as the Outback Bowl MVP in 2016. The Outback Bowl was between the 9-3 Tennesse and 10-3 Northwestern. In the game, Hurd had 24 carries for 130 rushing yards and one touchdown, according to ESPN. Tennessee ended up winning 45-6.
Now that Jalen Hurd has signed a deal with the New England Patriots, the hope will be that he can stay healthy. Back and knee injuries are both insanely difficult to come back from. Hopefully, this time away from the game helped him recover, and he can get his second chance. Patriot fans should be cautiously optimistic about this signing.
