The San Francisco 49ers made it official Saturday, placing wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling on injured reserve. The move came after coach Kyle Shanahan revealed earlier in the week that Stribling would miss close to 10 weeks following ankle surgery.
What Happened to Stribling
Stribling went down with what looked like a serious non-contact injury during San Francisco’s Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. Initial fears centered on his Achilles. Fortunately, testing confirmed it was intact. Doctors ultimately diagnosed him with a deltoid sprain in his left ankle, an injury serious enough to require surgery. As a result, the IR move became all but inevitable once the recovery timeline came into focus.
Stribling, 23, arrived in San Francisco as a second-round pick, No. 33 overall, in this year’s draft. He signed a four-year, $13,526,344 rookie contract that included a $6,297,340 signing bonus. Notably, his college career took an unusual path. He started at Washington State before transferring to Oklahoma State and finally Ole Miss over five total seasons.
How the 49ers Fill the Void
The IR placement allowed the 49ers to promote defensive lineman Ogbo Okoronkwo to the active roster. The move comes ahead of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. Okoronkwo had been called up from the practice squad for Week 1, and during that game, he played roughly 30 percent of the defensive snaps amid the team’s injury situation up front. As a result, he’s expected to see a similar role again. Overall, San Francisco leaned on a deep rotation that included nine defensive linemen in the opener.
At receiver, meanwhile, the 49ers are expected to lean on the same group that carried the load in Week 1. Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson, Deebo Samuel, KhaDarel Hodge and Jacob Cowing figure to make up the rotation again, and Shanahan has indicated that group will remain intact. Consequently, that likely keeps fifth-round rookie Jordan Watkins inactive for a second straight week, a trend that could continue until Stribling is healthy enough to return.
Elsewhere, San Francisco enters Week 2 in relatively good shape on the injury front. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro and running back Kaelon Black were both listed as questionable, but both appear on track to play. The team worked out kickers Greg Joseph and Younghoe Koo over the weekend without signing either, and notably, the decision not to elevate a running back suggests Black will be available after being limited in practice Thursday and Friday.
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