Wide receiver Turner makes special case for 49ers roster spot

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Kyle Shanahan was impressed by Malik Turner’s preseason performance but was not surprised, as he sees his work ethic practice, where he “goes hard everyday.”

The 49ers have five receivers who appear to be locks to make the 53-man roster.

If the 49ers decide to keep a sixth receiver — in addition to Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud and rookie Danny Gray — one veteran player has separated himself.

Malik Turner has appeared in 41 games over the past four seasons with Seattle and Dallas. He has 29 career catches for 414 yards and four touchdowns.

In three preseason games with the 49ers this summer, Turner had six receptions for 66 yards. But he distinguished himself as a standout on special teams.

“What you guys see in these three games, that’s what we see every day in practice,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of Turner in a Friday conference call with Bay Area reporters.

“That guy has more output and yards ran and energy used on the GPS. He goes as hard as he can on offense or special teams.”

Shanahan said he has been pleased to see Turner carry over his diligent approach in practices into the preseason games.

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“He’s a guy I’ve been happy for, and he’s really shown a good example of how to be a pro to a number of these guys,” Shanahan said.

Turner forced a fumble with a special-teams tackle against the Minnesota Vikings last week. On Thursday, he had a big hit on Houston’s Desmond King to hold him to no yards on a first-quarter punt return.

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