49ers open Christian Kirk's practice window

Every 49ers transaction alert this year has been bad news for the receivers. This one isn't.

Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter

49ers opened the practice window for WR Christian Kirk, who has been on injured reserve all season due to a calf injury.

Kirk hurt the calf in training camp in late July and opened the season on IR, so this is the first time San Francisco has gotten anything out of the guy it signed in March to a 1-year deal worth up to $6 million. Opening the window starts the clock. Under the IR rules the team now has 21 days to put him on the active roster, and he can practice the whole time. It doesn't mean he plays this weekend. It means he's finally close.

It's also right on the schedule Kyle Shanahan laid out. On October 2, Shanahan said the team could open Kirk's window in about 2 weeks, after the Seattle game, and that's what happened. Nice to see a 49ers injury timeline that didn't slip for once.

Jeremy Fowler

@JFowlerESPN

The 49ers today are opening the practice window for WR Christian Kirk, who's on Injured Reserve. They are also promoting DL Ogbo Okoronkwo to the active roster.

The other half of the move is on defense. Ogbo Okoronkwo gets promoted to the active roster after playing in 5 games this season, with 1 start, 2 tackles and 1 sack, according to the team. He's 31, in his 8th season, and has 18 career sacks across 86 games since the Rams drafted him in 2018. That's real depth for a defensive line that keeps needing bodies. The team also signed linebacker Eugene Asante to the practice squad.

Why Kirk matters: the receiver room has been a MASH unit. As of early October, Kirk, DeMarcus Robinson, Ricky Pearsall and De'Zhaun Stribling were all out, and Mike Evans was dealing with a rib injury. At this point Brock Purdy would take a healthy guy who knows where to stand, and Kirk is a lot more than that when he's right. In 2022 with Jacksonville he caught 84 balls for 1,108 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The catch is the 'when he's right' part. Collarbone and hamstring injuries have cut into the last few years, and last season in Houston he had just 28 catches for 239 yards and 1 touchdown in 13 games. He did come alive in the playoffs with 10 catches, 164 yards and 2 scores in 2 games. That's the version the 49ers paid for.

What to watch next: how much Kirk actually does at practice this week, and whether Shanahan calls it a ramp-up or a real push to play. If the calf holds, he could be activated well before the 21 days are up. In a receiver room this thin, the 49ers need every week they can get out of him.