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49ers Open Practice Window for Jon Feliciano

The 49ers have reinforcements on the way.

Grant Cohn

Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Jon Feliciano (55) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Jon Feliciano (55) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The 49ers have reinforcements on the way.

In addition to Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers opened the practice window today for veteran offensive lineman Jon Feliciano. That means Feliciano technically remains on Injured Reserve, and the 49ers have the next three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster or else he'll have to miss the entire season. Same goes for McCaffrey.

Feliciano, 32, originally signed with the 49ers in 2023. He eventually started seven regular season games and three playoff games at right guard after replacing Spencer Burford.

But Feliciano missed all offseason due to injuries, and his absence opened the door for rookie offensive lineman, who has become the unquestioned starter at right guard for the foreseeable future -- he's a terrific player. So Feliciano will have to find a new position or return to the bench.

I'm guessing he will return to the bench and be the first man up at guard or center in case of an injury. But starting center Jake Brendel has struggled big time in pass protection this season, plus he makes lots of mistakes when he sets protections at the line of scrimmage. If he continues to struggle, the 49ers could replace Brendel with Feliciano. But it's unlikely Feliciano would be much of an improvement after missing so much time due to injury.

Still, it's always good to have an experienced offensive lineman on the bench who can play multiple positions. And considering how long the season is, he could be a factor down the stretch.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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