49ers sign guard Ben Bartch as Banks, Burford deal with injuries

49ers sign guard Ben Bartch as Banks, Burford deal with injuries originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers on Tuesday signed offensive guard Ben Bartch off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.

Bartch, a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in the 2020 NFL Draft, started 20 of the 41 games in which he appeared in his first four seasons. He provides depth for the 49ers, whose starting guards are nursing injuries.

Left guard Aaron Banks is likely to miss his third consecutive game with a toe injury, while right guard Spencer Burford’s availability for Thursday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks is in question due to a knee injury.

The 49ers placed safety Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve to make room on the 53-man roster for Bartch. Hufanga sustained a torn ACL in his right knee and is scheduled for season-ending surgery.

Bartch started 11 games for the Jaguars in 2021 and entered the next season as the team’s starting left guard. He sustained a dislocated knee in Week 5 and went on season-ending injured reserve.

Bartch started three games this season before he was benched. The Jaguars waived him last month and re-signed him to the practice squad when the team acquired guard Ezra Cleveland in a trade from the Minnesota Vikings.

Bartch played college football at St. John’s University, a Division III program in Collegeville, Minn. He went viral during the 2020 NFL Combine for recreating the smoothie recipe that helped him gain weight and transition from tight end to tackle in college.

Veteran Jon Feliciano started the past two games at left guard. The 49ers elevated interior offensive lineman Corey Luciano from the practice squad to serve as a backup Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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