Kirk is activated, and the 49ers will dress exactly 48 at Atlanta
Six of the 54 on the active list are ruled out, which leaves no spare. Kurtis Rourke and Enrique Cruz Jr. dress, and the count reaches 48 only if Siran Neal and Upton Stout play.
The 49ers activated Christian Kirk off injured reserve on Saturday and removed his questionable tag for Sunday at Atlanta, per the club's announcement at 1:28 p.m. Pacific. In the same release they re-signed defensive lineman Ogbo Okoronkwo to the practice squad, released defensive lineman Kevin Givens from it, and elevated Okoronkwo and linebacker Jalen Graham for the game.
Forty-eight, exactly. The active table on the club's roster page carried 54 names Saturday afternoon: the 51 from Friday, plus Kirk and the two elevations. Dre Greenlaw is not among them; he is still listed under Reserve/Suspended. Six of the 54 were ruled out Friday. That leaves 48, the most a team can dress. On Friday Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers might go in with fewer, with quarterback Kurtis Rourke and lineman Enrique Cruz Jr. "the two left," per the club's transcript. On Saturday's numbers both dress, and the count reaches 48 only if Siran Neal and Upton Stout, both questionable, play. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported Saturday that both are expected to. The two elevations went to a linebacker and a defensive lineman, so Rourke and Cruz remain, in Shanahan's phrase, the emergency receivers.
Kirk. He hurt his calf on the first day of training camp and went on injured reserve at the start of the regular season, per Maiocco. His practice window opened Oct. 15, and he was a full participant all three days this week on the official report. Sunday is his 49ers debut. He has 432 catches for 5,415 yards and 30 touchdowns in 106 games over eight seasons, per ESPN, figures Maiocco's report matches. He signed a one-year, $2.96 million deal in the offseason, Maiocco reported.
Four receivers. With Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel out, Maiocco listed the active wideouts as Kirk, Jordan Watkins, Brandin Cooks and Jacob Cowing. Malik Turner, elevated for Weeks 4 and 6 per the club, was not elevated this time.
Okoronkwo, again. The club released him Friday to open the roster spot for Kirk; he was back on the practice squad Saturday so he could be elevated, Maiocco reported. By the club's log he has now been released Oct. 9, signed to the practice squad Oct. 10, promoted Oct. 15, released Oct. 23 and signed Oct. 24. Givens, the man whose spot he took, appeared in one game this season with two tackles, per the club.
Graham is elevated for the second straight week, per the club's Week 6 and Week 7 releases. He played nine of 67 defensive snaps against Washington, per the game book. With Luke Gifford and Garret Wallow out, the linebackers available are Fred Warner, Tatum Bethune, Jaden Dugger and Graham.
Warner's fines. The NFL fined Warner $65,673 for two fourth-quarter hits on Washington tight end Chig Okonkwo, Maiocco reported: $47,762 for illegal use of the helmet on a play where officials threw a flag and then picked it up, and $17,911 for a hit on a defenseless player that drew no flag. Maiocco puts his season total at four fines; the two from Week 3 against Arizona came to $41,793. That makes $107,466 across two games. Washington offensive lineman Chris Paul was fined $11,941 for the facemask on Dugger that wiped out Jeremy McNichols' 31-yard touchdown run.
Atlanta's moves. The Falcons activated cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. off injured reserve after four weeks there with a groin injury from Week 2, and he no longer carries a game designation, per the club's site. They put tackle Michael Jerrell on injured reserve and elevated linebacker Brian Asamoah and running back Khalil Herbert, who spent August with the 49ers. Kickoff is 10 a.m. Pacific; inactive lists come 90 minutes before.
