Given their injury history over the last several years, few were surprised that the San Francisco 49ers didn’t escape their Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams without losing a player or two.
Tight end Jake Tonges is expected to miss some time with an MCL sprain. But San Francisco suffered a bigger injury blow when rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling suffered a non-contact injury.
Stribling will miss a month after it was revealed he suffered a deltoid injury, and one 49ers insider believes the team is to blame for Stribling’s predicament.
Reporter Blames 49ers for De’Zhaun Stribling’s Injury
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported over the weekend that surgery could be in Stribling’s future after suffering a deltoid sprain against the Rams.
According to 49ers on SI reporter Grant Cohn, Stribling re-injuring his deltoid is the team’s fault because they allowed him to reenter the Rams game knowing that he was already injured.
“(Stribling) suffered a deltoid sprain in his ankle early during the 49ers’ win over the Rams, limped off the field and into the blue injury tent. The 49ers’ medical brain trust, led by vice president of player health and performance Dustin Perry and team physician Timothy McAdams, examined Stribling’s injured ankle for minutes, and then decided that he was good to go back into the game. They cleared him.
“So, Stribling went back into the game. What else was he supposed to do? Protest? He’s a rookie. He does what he’s told. First play back in the game, Stribling runs a route, makes a break, and falls to the ground clutching his ankle. He just re-injured it and possibly made it worse. This time, he couldn’t limp off the field. The 49ers had to load him onto a cart and drive him into the locker room.
“Now, they say he’ll miss at least the next four weeks, and that he doesn’t need surgery, but he’s seeking more opinions. Keep in mind, the 49ers’ initial medical opinion about Stribling’s deltoid sprain was that it wasn’t a big deal. It was something he could shake off and play through. They were wrong. And now he’ll miss at least a month. Who knows, maybe he would return sooner if the 49ers hadn’t put him back in the game?”
Stribling’s Injury Leaves 49ers Thin at WR
After former first-round pick Ricky Pearsall was ruled out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn PCL, Stribling was pegged to fill his spot and take on a large role in San Francisco’s passing attack.
With the explosive rookie going down in Week 1, the 49ers are now even more thin at receiver than they already were. Pearsall is on season-ending IR. Christian Kirk will miss at least three more games while on IR. Brandon Aiyuk is on the Reserve/Did Not Report list and is not expected to play for the 49ers again.
That leaves prized offseason addition Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, and Demarcus Robinson as the team’s top receiving options.
EVans and Samuel both scored touchdowns in the opener and will presumably carry the load until Kirk comes back. Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, and KhaDarel Hodge are the only other WRs on the 53-man roster.
The 49ers have both Wesley Grimes and Will Pauling on the practice squad; however, if they want to add a receiver who can make an immediate impact, they could turn to the free-agent market where Darius Slayton, Curtis Samuel, and Sterling Shephard are all available.
49ers Hit With Alarming De’Zhaun Stribling Accusations by Team Insider