SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers have placed tight end Garrett Celek on season-ending injured reserve with the left-high ankle sprain he suffered against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 29.
Celek is the eighth 49ers player placed on IR this season, along with rookie tight end Busta Anderson, rookie receiver Dres Anderson, strong safety Antoine Bethea, running back Reggie Bush, defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and safety L.J. McCray.
The Niners also re-signed linebacker Shayne Skov, who was waived on Saturday to make room for center Daniel Kilgore, despite the team being extremely thin at tight end.
Vance McDonald, who replaced Celek in the starting lineup in the 49ers’ 26-20 overtime win at the Chicago Bears on Sunday, suffered a concussion in the game and rookie Blake Bell is currently the only healthy tight end on the roster. The Niners do, however, have a pair of tight ends on their practice squad in Jamie Childers and Brian Leonhardt.
Celek, meanwhile, appeared in 11 games this season, starting eight, and caught a career-high 19 passes for a career-best 186 yards and three touchdowns.
The Niners (4-8) play at the Cleveland Browns (2-10) Sunday and may also be thin at inside linebacker with Michael Wilhoite re-aggravating his ankle injury early at Chicago and not returning to the game, hence Skov’s returning to the 53-man roster. Skov has four special teams tackles and had been the primary backup to NaVorro Bowman, who was knocked woozy against the Bears, left the game but passed the concussion test and finished with a game-high 14 tackles.
