49ers add veteran kicker in wake of Gould’s injury, cut two RBs from practice squad

The 49ers were off from practice Tuesday, but the front office was busy with transactions as they prepare for another NFC West showdown Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Kicker Joey Slye signed with the team Tuesday afternoon, two days after Robbie Gould injured his groin in pregame warmups and did not play in the Niners’ loss to the Seahawks.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said in his Monday press conference that the 49ers expect Gould’s recovery to take 3-5 weeks, and on Tuesday the team placed him on injured reserve to make room for Slye. Gould will miss the rest of October, including a Halloween date with his former team, the Chicago Bears, whose all-time scoring mark (1,207 points) he still holds after an 11-year tenure there to begin his career. He’ll be eligible to return for the Nov. 7 return date against Arizona after three games and the 49ers’ bye week.

Slye played last year in Houston after spending the first two years of his career with the Panthers. He’s made 58 of 73 career field-goal attempts and 71 of 79 extra points.

The 49ers also made three changes to their practice squad, including the addition of Jordan Matthews, who was with the team in preseason after converting from wide receiver to tight end. Another face familiar to the Bay Area joined the practice squad in the person of wide receiver Connor Wedington, who played for Stanford from 2017-20. The third addition was veteran linebacker Tyrell Adams, who has played games for the Raiders and Texans (12 starts last season) over his five-year pro career.

Leaving the practice squad was linebacker Curtis Bolton along with veteran running backs Kerryon Johnson and Chris Thompson, all of whom signed with the 49ers since the start of the season.

The releases of Johnson and Thompson might indicate that Shanahan and the 49ers expect Elijah Mitchell to return this week after missing two games with a shoulder injury. JaMychal Hasty could come off the IR as soon as next week after he injured his ankle in Week 2.