49ers Place ILB NaVorro Bowman & NT Glenn Dorsey On I.R.

December 13, 2014

The San Francisco 49ers announced Saturday that they have placed placed ILB NaVorro Bowman and NT Glenn Dorsey on season-ending injured reserve.

The 49ers also promoted CB Marcus Cromartie and G Andrew Tiller to the active roster from the team’s practice squad.

San Francisco just activated Bowman from the the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday, but it appears as though they would prefer him to focus on being 100 percent for the start of the 2015 season.

Bowman worked his way back from a serious knee injury that included tearing his ACL and MCL last year.

San Francisco has actually held up pretty well without Bowman and Patrick Willis in the lineup as Michael Wilhoite and rookie Chris Borland have as stepped in and produced.

Bowman, 25, signed a seven-year, $46.37 million contract that included $25.5 million guaranteed back in 2012. However, he later converted $3.27 million of his $4 million base salary into a signing bonus to free up some cap space.

When healthy, Bowman has proven to be one of the best linebackers in the league. In 2013, he totaled 145 tackles, five sacks, two interceptions, four forced fumbles and two recoveries for the 49ers. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 overall inside linebacker last season.

Dorsey unfortunately suffered a torn bicep a few months ago, which led to him missing the first 11 weeks of the season.

That didn’t prevent the 49ers from sign him to a two-year contract extension a few months back. Dorsey managed to secure a deal that will pay him a total value of close $11 million and includes $2.6 million guaranteed.

Dorsey’s new contract includes a $250,000 bonus for each Pro Bowl selection and incentives that could escalate to $500,000 if he plays over 65 percent of the defensive snaps in a season.

Last year, Dorsey appeared in all 16 games for the 49ers and recorded 41 tackles and two sacks. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 23 defensive tackle in the league and a particularly stout run-defender.