Vance McDonald Injury: Updates on 49ers TE's Ankle and Return

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald left his team’s preseason contest against the Dallas Cowboys with an ankle injury.

Continue for updates.

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McDonald's Injury Does Not Appear Serious

Sunday, Aug. 23

The team’s official Twitter account noted McDonald would miss the remainder of Sunday’s contest with his setback. However, Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group didn’t think the injury was too serious because McDonald was standing on the sidelines with his cleats on, and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned the possibility that the tight end could keep playing if it was the regular season.

That is welcome news for 49ers fans because the former second-round pick is more important in 2015 than his 30 receiving yards from last year indicate.

San Francisco needs depth behind the 31-year-old Vernon Davis after he only tallied 245 receiving yards in 2014. Even if Davis looks more like the version of himself that caught 13 touchdowns in 2013, he is still in the last year of his contract with an uncertain future.

What’s more, the 49ers traded Derek Carrier to Washington this offseason, which eliminated some of the depth at the tight end position. Although Blake Bell and Garrett Celek are both options, the 25-year-old McDonald brings plenty of upside to the table as a pass-catcher this year alongside Davis.

The only way McDonald will deliver on that second-round potential is if he is healthy and on the field this season.