SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jarryd Hayne fans waiting in joyful hope for the Australian rugby league star’s return to the San Francisco 49ers' active roster were likely dealt a blow to the gut with Tuesday’s signing of running back DuJuan Harris off the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.
The thinking was that with Shaun Draughn nursing a knee injury suffered in Sunday’s 24-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Niners extremely thin at running back, they would contemplate promoting Hayne from the practice squad, where he has resided since Nov. 2, two days after the team surprisingly waived him.
Instead the Niners signed Harris, 27, who has been with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Ravens since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Troy in 2011.
The 5-foot-7, 206-pound Harris played in two games this season for the Seahawks, rushing for 49 yards on 21 carries before being released on Dec. 15 and signed to Baltimore’s practice squad on Thursday. In his 26-game career, he has 312 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 80 carries with four catches for 32 yards in 26 games.
To make room for Harris the Niners cut Travaris Cadet, who signed with the Niners on Nov. 10 and became the primary ball carrier after Draughn went down Sunday. Cadet played in four games for the Niners and rushed for 16 yards on seven carries while catching seven passes for 66 yards.
Also, rookie running back Mike Davis, who is on the short-term injured reserve list, has returned to practice, the 49ers announced.
If and when Harris gets a carry, he will be the 10th different back to attempt a rush this season, along with Carlos Hyde (IR), Draughn, Reggie Bush (IR), Kendall Gaskins, Hayne, Davis, Cadet, fullback Bruce Miller and Pierre Thomas (released).
A roster spot could conceivably open for Hayne (25 rushing yards on eight carries) if Draughn is placed on IR, though that could also go to Davis, who suffered a broken hand on Nov. 1.
“These six weeks I’ve been on the practice squad, I’ve learned so much,” Hayne said last week, per 49ers.com. “Two weeks ago, I literally took every single rep on the look squad. That was huge.
“I feel 10 times more confident than I did six weeks ago when I was actually playing. It’s day and night. I know I’ve just got to be patient. If I get the call up then I get the call up, and if I don’t then I don’t. It’s all about being ready and training hard.”
Hayne also had eight punt returns for 76 yards, including a team-high 37-yard return. But two costly fumbles, including one on his first-ever NFL touch, on Monday Night Football cost him dearly.
“Watching the tape is always the most rewarding part of the week,” he said.
“It’s always funny looking at old film. It’s one of those awkward things. You go, ‘What was I thinking? What was I doing?' It’s hilarious. To think how much different it’s going to be in another 12 months, it’s going to be incredible.”