Australian offensive lineman Blake Muir has been cut by the San Francisco 49ers as the team savagely reduces its squad before the start of the NFL season.
A year ago Jarryd Hayne celebrated as the 49ers kept him in their line-up as the roster dropped from 90 players to 75 and then to 53 for the regular season.
Muir, a 198cm tall, 143kg Sydney-raised lineman, who played for the Sutherland Seahawks Gridiron Club and then was a star at Baylor University in Texas, received the bad news from 49ers management in the first wave of cuts.
One of Hayne's great mates last year, running back Kendall Gaskins, was also cut with Muir and seven other players.
Hayne may have made the 49ers' 53-man squad again if he had stayed in California instead of attempting to play for Fiji's Olympic rugby sevens squad and then signing with the NRL's Gold Coast Titans.
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The 49ers have been hit by injuries at the two positions Hayne played last season - punt returner and running back.
Bruce Ellington, who Hayne beat for the punt return job at the start of last season, has been dogged by injuries.
After missing the second pre-season game with a sprained ankle, Ellington suffered a hamstring injury early in the 49ers' 21-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Friday.
Ellington struggled to walk off the field after his four-yard punt return.
The 49ers' running back stocks have also taken a major blow with star Carlos Hyde suffering a concussion against the Packers.
Hyde missed nine games to injury last season, giving Hayne game time opportunities.
The NFL regular season begins on September 8 with Australian rookie Adam Gotsis' defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos taking on the team they beat for the title, the Carolina Panthers.
