DeForest Buckner says San Francisco was the only place he wanted to go
He spoke Monday for the first time since the trade that brought him back. Houston, meanwhile, signed Naquan Jones, the second defensive tackle to leave the 49ers' practice squad in three days.
DeForest Buckner spoke to Bay Area reporters Monday, his first availability since the Oct. 28 trade, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area and 49ers Webzone. The Colts asked for his input before the deal, Webzone reported.
"I stated I wanted to come here," Buckner said, per Maiocco. "I didn't want to go anywhere else."
Asked about his contract future, he said, per Webzone: "I'm really just focused on the new opportunity I have here and just taking it one week at a time."
West's number. C.J. West, on injured reserve, gave Buckner the jersey number Buckner wore in his first stint and did not ask for anything back, Maiocco reported. West's new nameplate went up over his locker. "Oh, I'm going to take care of him," Buckner said.
Another tackle gone. Houston signed Naquan Jones to its 53-man roster on Monday, taking him off the 49ers' practice squad. The league's transaction wire lists it as a free-agent signing dated Nov. 2; reports of the deal surfaced Sunday, per 49ers Webzone. On Friday, Indianapolis did the same with Kevin Givens.
San Francisco signed Jones off Minnesota's practice squad to the 53 on Sept. 23, released him on Oct. 20 and signed him back to the practice squad the next day, per the club's releases. He played three games for the 49ers and made two tackles, according to 49ers Webzone. It is his second stint in Houston.
The replacement is a receiver. The club announced Monday that it signed KhaDarel Hodge to the practice squad. He played three games for San Francisco this season, with one catch for 18 yards, before his release on Oct. 1, the day Brandin Cooks was promoted. The club called it a release; 49ers Webzone reported it as an injury settlement.
The count. The club's roster page, read Monday afternoon and counted by name, lists 16 on the practice squad, Isaac Alarcon's international exemption among them, so one regular spot stays open. Three defensive linemen remain there: Viliami Fehoko Jr., McKinnley Jackson and Ogbo Okoronkwo. After Givens signed back on Oct. 27, there were five. Receivers on the squad are now four: Wesley Grimes, Hodge, Will Pauling and Xavier Smith. Dante Pettis is still on practice-squad injured reserve. The active roster is 53 of 53, with 10 defensive linemen, Buckner included.
Stribling. Matt Barrows of The Athletic posted Monday that De'Zhaun Stribling was walking around the open locker room without crutches or any brace on his lower leg, as relayed by 49ers Webzone. Shanahan said on Oct. 26 he hoped for "sometime in December." Stribling had ankle surgery Sept. 16 and remains on injured reserve.
The week. The club's media schedule, as published by 49ers Webzone, had practice Monday at 10:40 a.m., players off Tuesday, then practice Wednesday through Friday, with Shanahan at the podium Wednesday at 12:35 p.m. The first injury report of the week comes Wednesday. Las Vegas visits Levi's Stadium on Sunday at 1:25 p.m.
Still waiting. Demarcus Robinson and West were the two injured-reserve names on Shanahan's Oct. 26 list of players with a chance to return after the bye. The league wire shows no 49ers reserve-list move in November through Monday. Each return needs a spot on a full 53, and the open practice-squad spot is not one either can use.
The trade deadline is Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. Pacific.
