The San Francisco 49ers still plan to use Jarryd Hayne all over the field.
Despite fumbling away his first NFL punt return against the Vikings on Monday night, the former Australian Rugby League star hasn't lost his job on special teams.
"We put him out there for the next two punts," coach Jim Tomsula said this week, per the team's official website. "He would have stayed out there all day."
Said Tomsula: "The next punt (after the fumble) went out of bounds, he didn't have a chance to return it. Then the punt after that he did catch, he got 12 yards on it, I believe, so he got us a first down. He's right back out there. So there's a belief and a faith there."
Tomsula went on to explain that Hayne was also yanked in favor of Bruce Ellington because of an injury to Reggie Bush, who hurt his calf in the opening quarter. The Niners didn't want to risk losing another back.
Ellington went on to take a second-quarter punt 85 yards for the score, only to have it nullified by an illegal block, but Tomsula talked about using multiple returners and pointed to Hayne as still in the mix, saying: "We have learning moments and we'll learn from those learning moments."
