49ers place safety Antoine Bethea on injured reserve
San Francisco safety Antoine Bethea was placed on season-ending injured reserve Friday with a shoulder injury suffered in Thursday night's 20-3 loss to Seattle.
The move cleared room on the 53-man roster for wide receiver Jerome Simpson's post-suspension return. The team used a one-game roster exemption for him this past week after Simpson served a six-game penalty for violations of the league's substance abuse policy.
Bethea was scheduled for an MRI exam on the shoulder at nearby Stanford. He grabbed Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin with his right shoulder in the second quarter and received a face mask penalty, and that's believed to be when he got hurt.
The 31-year-old Bethea, in his second season with the Niners and 10th in the NFL, had started all 23 games since joining the 49ers as a free agent in March last year. He made 44 tackles and a sack this year.
-
2024 NFL free agency tracker: Signings, updates, best players available
2024 NFL predictions: An early look at division winners
2023 NFL WR rankings: Justin Jefferson leads loaded list of top 10 receivers
-
2025 Super Bowl LIX odds: All is quiet as league awaits schedule release
2023 10 best safeties in NFL: Minkah Fitzpatrick leads rankings
2023 Best NFL linebackers: Fred Warner leads top 10 rankings followed by Roquan Smith
-
2025 NFL mock draft: Who are next year's top prospects
2023 Top 10 RB rankings: Christian McCaffrey leads best NFL running backs list
2024 NFL Power Rankings: A post-draft look at where every team stands
-
2024 NFL free agency tracker: Signings, updates, best players available
2024 NFL predictions: An early look at division winners
2023 NFL WR rankings: Justin Jefferson leads loaded list of top 10 receivers
-
2025 Super Bowl LIX odds: All is quiet as league awaits schedule release
2023 10 best safeties in NFL: Minkah Fitzpatrick leads rankings
2023 Best NFL linebackers: Fred Warner leads top 10 rankings followed by Roquan Smith
-
2025 NFL mock draft: Who are next year's top prospects
2023 Top 10 RB rankings: Christian McCaffrey leads best NFL running backs list
2024 NFL Power Rankings: A post-draft look at where every team stands