NFC rival leaves 49ers with new hole to fill after stealing key backup from right under their noses

The San Francisco 49ers are not blessed with a lot of depth at the tackle position, and they will now have to find reinforcements at the position after an NFC rival signed a backup at that spot from their practice squad.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said the team is signing veteran tackle Chris Hubbard to their active roster.

Hubbard has spent the entire season on the 49ers' practice squad without playing a game.

It is an understandable move from a Giants perspective, given they just lost left tackle Andrew Thomas for the season with a foot injury.

For the 49ers, it leaves them with extremely limited options at tackle. Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz are the starters with Jaylon Moore the swing tackle. Isaac Alarcon is the lone tackle on the practice squad.

The 49ers have recently given guard Spencer Burford some reps at tackle, a position he played in college at UTSA. Still, though they may be able to make use of his flexibility, the loss of Hubbard to the Giants would leave the 49ers in a very precarious position at tackle if either of Williams or McKivitz were to suffer a long-term injury.

In the marathon that is an NFL season, the moves on the margins often carry significance that is not reflected by the attention they receive. After losing Hubbard, the 49ers will likely need to make a move at the tackle spot to fortify their extremely shaky depth.

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