An unfortunate injury has created an opening will the 49ers bring in slot WR: Russell Gage Jr. 

The Niners are dealing with a lot of variables at wide receiver right now. Jauan Jennings wants a new contract and has a calf injury, whether real or contract-related, that has kept him out of practice. Brandon Aiyuk seems likely to miss the first few weeks of the regular season. Demarcus Robinson faces a potential suspension.

So should the niners bring in Russell Gage Jr into the picture. The San Francisco 49ers are trying to figure out their wide receiver situation before the regular season. After the injury to rookie Jordan Watkins, veteran Russell Gage may now have the inside track on winning the slot receiver role.

 He signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2022 after he had 138 total catches the previous two seasons. And he expected to keep ascending: He was still relatively new to the position after converting from cornerback to wide receiver before his junior season at LSU.

Instead of achieving greater heights after ranking 27th among NFL wide receivers with 238 catches from 2019-2022, Gage experienced a devastating low. Nearly two years ago, during a joint training-camp practice with the Jets, Gage caught a pass during a 7-on-7 period, accelerated upfield and suffered a non-contact injury that can threaten careers. He fell to the ground with a ruptured patella tendon, a band of tissue that connects the kneecap to the shinbone.

The 49ers aren’t expecting to start the season with wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk (knee) or Demarcus Robinson, who is likely to receive a multi-game suspension for a DUI arrest. The lone locks to make the Week 1 roster: Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and rookie Jordan Watkins. If the 49ers open with five wideouts, Gage could be competing with a group that includes Jacob Cowing and rookie Junior Bergen for the final two spots.

“He’s definitely given himself a chance,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I’ve always been a fan of Russell since he came out of college. … He put the work in this offseason. And I think he’s back to being a really good NFL player now and fighting to make this team.”

Gage has spent the past 103 weeks fighting. He said acquaintances assumed he was an ex-NFL player during his lengthy rehab, but he admits that he struggled with similar thoughts. The injury weakened his quadriceps and hamstring on his right leg and he was still dealing with post-workout soreness and a lack of route-running explosiveness months after the one-year anniversary of his surgery.

The progress was slow. And he felt his career clock rapidly ticking. Even if he made a full recovery, could he be the same player if he was closing in on 30?

“From a mental standpoint, those thoughts creep in your head,” Gage said. “It’s like, ‘Man, I’m only getting older. The NFL – most guys don’t stay long anyways. Will I ever be the same? Will I ever be able to get back to how I move? Get the separation I’m able to get?’ Yeah, all those thoughts were in my head. It’s the hardest thing I’ve gone through.”

Gage’s past gave him confidence. He had just 26 catches in his LSU career, but he was a sixth-round pick of the Falcons in 2018 partly because of his stellar work as a talented and tireless special-teams player. He played 280 special-teams snaps and had just six catches as a rookie, when he was still learning the nuances of the position, before he broke out with 49 receptions in his second season.

The title of Gage’s 2021 YouTube documentary is “Relentless.” The hashtag on his Instagram account – #WakeemupRuss – is a nod to his ability to surprise skeptics. Despite his NFL success, Gage, 6-foot and 184 pounds, says his persona hasn’t changed.

“I’ve always felt like the under-the-radar guy that people didn’t expect much from,” he said.

Gage signed with the Ravens in training camp last year, about a year after his injury, but he knew he wasn’t fully recovered. He played five snaps in three preseason games and was released. He joined the 49ers’ practice squad on Nov. 5 and struggled to recapture his pre-injury form before he had a late-season breakthrough: He called his wife, Kentrea, after an afternoon in which he ran crisp routes and didn’t have post-practice pain.   

“You could see him working to get his legs back, to get back in receiver shape and be able to handle the cuts after his injuries,” Shanahan said. “I think the way he finished last year was really positive.”

As Gage detailed his two-year journey Tuesday, he expressed optimism and confessed to anxiety while looking ahead to Saturday night. He thinks he’s back, but he lacks assurance. And that can’t arrive until he takes the first steps toward what he hopes will be the continuation of his interrupted career.

“I’m very excited to get on the field and feel good – feel good about myself and my body,” Gage said. “And then there’s another side, ‘Well, OK, I haven’t been on the field in a while.

I haven’t been tackled in two years.’ But I think it’s a good anxiousness that I’m feeling.”