SANTA CLARA – The possibility that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk could be available Thursday night diminished significantly with the changes to the 49ers’ gameday roster.
The 49ers have signed veteran wide receiver Chris Conley from the practice squad to be available in the likely event of Aiyuk’s loss.
All signs indicate that Aiyuk will likely be among the team’s inactive players for 90 minutes before kickoff Thursday night against the New York Giants at Levi’s Stadium.
Aiyuk suffered a left shoulder injury in the 49ers’ Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The club listed him as questionable for the game on its final status report before facing the Giants in Week 3.
The wide receiver has become quarterback Brock Purdy’s favorite target. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after catching eight passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Conley is available to the Giants, along with the team’s healthy wide receivers: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ronnie Bell and Ray-Ray McCloud.
The 49ers also made moves to make two additional cornerbacks available for the game, with Ambry Thomas (knee) also listed as questionable.
The 49ers promoted cornerback Tre Swilling from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and, along with Conley, signed cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles from the practice squad.
To make room for Swilling on the active roster, the 49ers released veteran cornerback Anthony Brown, whom the club signed on Tuesday.
Brown will become a free agent and could be re-signed by the 49ers in the coming days.
Conley is in his ninth NFL season. He has spent time in Kansas City, Jacksonville, Houston and Tennessee.
He has played in 109 games with 63 starts. Conley has 217 receptions for 2,853 yards and 15 touchdowns in his career.
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