San Francisco 49ers rookie Jarryd Hayne still feels he is living the NFL dream despite his recent setbacks with the team.

Hayne posted a photo on Instagram with his cousin and captioned the picture about chasing his dream to be an NFL player. “At 8 years old my cousin wanted to be a lawyer and I wanted to be a professional athlete. Now we're both in San Francisco living what we dreamed of. #dreamchasers,” Hayne wrote.

Hayne successfully transitioned from the National Rugby League to playing American football after his stellar preseason run with the 49ers. However, despite showing great potential, “Hayne Plane” only saw limited action in his first six regular season games, where he committed three fumbles that led to him to get demoted into the 49ers’ practice squad.

The 49ers continue to overlook Hayne, with team signing veteran running backs Shaun Draughn and Pierre Thomas and Bruce Ellington taking the Aussie’s spot as the team’s primary punt returner. However, with losses continue to pile up for San Francisco and Ellington consistently playing poorly at the punt return job, there is a chance Hayne could reclaim his spot in the 49ers active roster.

According to Richard Shute of the Sydney Morning Herald, Hayne’s chance to play for the 49ers’ remaining five games is “pretty good,” considering how Ellington struggles to play well during game days.

“Since Hayne's last gameday appearance, the 49ers have only won one game - and they are dead in the water for the season,” Shute wrote. “With coach Tomsula's job security at an all-time low, it is altogether possible he will adopt a 'nothing to lose' strategy and shake things up.”

The US media has also called for Hayne’s return to the 49ers’ active squad. Matt Maiocco of Comcast Sportsnet posted on Twitter that it was a huge mistake by Ellington to muff a punt near midfield, suggesting that it might be time to get Hayne back in Jim Tomsula’s rotation.

It could only be a matter of time before Hayne’s legion of fans could see him back in action. The 49ers’ season is already over having been lost eight of their 11 games, which makes it the more rightful to play Hayne and develop him on the field.

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