Last week, in a preseason loss to Denver, Brooks was replaced in the starting lineup by Eli Harold, 23, who will earn $634,000 in base salary on a contract that runs through 2018.

“Ahmad can still do things — I think everybody knows that,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’s going to help somebody this year. … It’s really been nothing against Ahmad. It’s how are we going to get 53 guys on this team that are the right type of 53 guys? You think of guys that might not be as ready in Week 1, but they might be ready in Week 3.”