When Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle went down with a hamstring injury early last season, Jake Tonges stepped into a starting role and filled in admirably.
Tonges caught 34of his 46 targets for 293 yards and five touchdowns, proving he was capable of shouldering some of the load with Kittle out of the lineup.
But unfortunately for Tonges, he won’t get the chance to make nearly the impact in 2026 that he did a season ago.
Jake Tonges Out for Season With MCL Injury
No stranger to bad injury news, the 49ers were rocked by more of it on Wednesday morning when ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed that Tonges won’t be available for the final 16 games of the season.
“49ers TE Jake Tonges will be out for the season after undergoing surgery for a torn MCL,” Schefter reported.
The news came as a bit of a shock after initial reports indicated that Tonges would miss some time but not the entire season after suffering his MCL injury against the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday in the team’s season opener in Australia.
Tonges didn’t record a catch and played just eight offensive snaps and four special teams snaps against the Rams in San Francisco’s 27-7 victory.
With Tonges out, San Francisco’s TE depth is much thinner with Luke Farrell and Brayden Willis the only other tight ends on the roster behind Kittle.
49ers Get More Bad News on Rookie WR De’Zhaun Stribling
The bad news kept on coming for the 49ers as they also learned that rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling will also miss more time than initially believed.
Stribling suffered a torn deltoid in Thursday’s game, and initial reports indicated he would miss a month while he recovered. However, ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported that Stribling’s situation is much more dire than what the team originally was told.
“#49ers WR De’Zhaun Stribling had surgery on his ankle and will miss ‘close to’ 10 weeks, per Kyle Shanahan,” Wagoner posted on X.
Stribling’s injury is a gut punch to a 49ers WR room that’s already pretty thin. Former first-round pick Ricky Pearsall is out for the season after having PCL surgery. Free-agent signing Christian Kirk is also on injured reserve with a calf injury, though he’s able to return after Week 4.
Behind Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, San Francisco’s WR depth chart features Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, and KhaDarel Hodge.
49ers Hit With Brutal Season-Ending Injury News Days Before Dolphins Game