Shanahan still confident in 49ers rookie Cowing after muffed punt originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — Coach Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in rookie Jacob Cowing to continue handling the 49ers’ punt-return chores.
Cowing flubbed a punt in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. The 49ers averted a costly turnover deep in their own territory when Isaac Yiadom made the recovery after multiple players on both teams had their chances to jump on the ball.
“That’s one muffed punt,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “Just when it comes to catching stuff, he’s been as natural of a catcher as we’ve had in our eight years here, just in practice, how he’s been in the games.”
Through two games, Cowing has fielded three punts and averaged 5.0 yards per return. He also made one fair catch.
Cowing won the job to open the 2024 NFL season, as the 49ers opted to keep veteran return man Trent Taylor in the building as a member of the practice squad.
“I know that one got away from him, which we can’t have those,” Shanahan said of Cowing. “But everyone muffs one here and there. You just hope that was the end of it.”
The 49ers invested a fourth-round pick (No. 135 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft in Cowing, a speedster from Arizona.
Cowing has yet to see any playing time on offense through two games as the team’s sixth wide receiver.
Cowing could work his way into a role on offense in the coming weeks. The 49ers look to compensate for the loss of Deebo Samuel, who is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a calf strain.
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