Before Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, Jarryd Hayne had disappeared.
After being active for the 49ers’ first six games of the season, the former Australian rugby star was waived and then re-signed to San Francisco’s practice squad.
Though Hayne had been a preseason sensation, particularly as a punt returner, his performance in the regular season had been disappointing. He carried the ball just eight times for 25 yards, caught one pass for 7 yards and returned eight punts for 76 yards.
It seemed possible that the Hayne experiment was over in San Francisco.
But this past weekend, Hayne was reactivated and then given the surprise start at running back against the Lions.
On San Francisco’s first drive, which resulted in a touchdown, he had a career-best 11-yard run.
For the game he had nine carries for 27 yards and five catches for 20 yards.
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Niners coaches had been impressed by Hayne’s hard work on the practice squad, where he got plenty of reps on the scout team.
“That’s been huge for me to be able to get the experience,” Hayne told a writer for the team’s website after Sunday’s loss to the Lions. “It was invaluable. I obviously had a lot to catch up on. I felt great out there. There were probably one or two things I could have done better, but overall I was happy.”
Now, as the 49ers prepare for their season finale this Sunday against the Rams at Levi’s Stadium (1:25 p.m. kickoff), Hayne figures to get another chance to show the 49ers that he can be a part of their plan for 2016.
Certainly, 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula liked what he saw of Hayne against the Lions.
“I thought he represented himself well,” said Tomsula.
