One step forward, two steps back for the San Francisco 49ers wide receiving corps.
Mere hours after the team acquired Skyy Moore from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Niners announced wide receiver Russell Gage had a sprained MCL that could put his status in jeopardy for their season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.
Gage, who hasn’t played in the regular season since 2022 while recovering from a catastrophic injury he sustained in training camp in 2023. But the Niners signed in March, joined a M.A.S.H unit of receivers unable to play in their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
Which 49ers Wide Receivers Are Healthy?
Of course, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are the Niners’ top-three receivers, but only Pearsall is healthy. Demarcus Robinson, who signed to provide depth with for the Niners wide receivers this off-season, is absent too, since the NFL suspended him for three games for his DUI arrest last year.
So they added Gage, who has 244 catches for 2,491 yards and 14 touchdowns in 74 games with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as another healthy body. By all accounts, Gage had been successful at that too, since he was off to a solid preseason by posting five catches for 28 yards in two exhibition games against the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
But Gage joins Aiyuk, Jennings (calf) and Robinson joined rookie Jordan Watkins (ankle) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring) among the walking wounded. The Niners now have 14 wideouts on the roster while they try to figure out who can stay healthy long enough to play the position.
They added Moore, a largely disappointing 2022 second-round pick of the Chiefs who played just six games and did not have a catch in 2024, in hopes of competing with veteran journeymen Gage, Isaiah Hodgins, Malik Turner and Robby Chosen to help Pearsall and tight end George Kittle to make a serviceable receiving corps for franchise quarterback Brock Purdy.
That could still happen, if Gage’s timetable to return is right, since there is two weeks until the Seahawks game. But any setback could have an impact on the Niners’ ability to field enough skilled and dangerous wideouts.
Who Will Play Wide Receiver For The 49ers?
Aiyuk is unlikely to join the 49ers before Week 7 as he recovers from a 2024 knee injury. Jennings had a breakout season in Aiyuk’s absence last year, but his calf injury is taking much longer to heal than either he or the 49ers would hope.
Luckily, Pearsall overcame a hamstring injury in OTAs and the start of training camp. Pearsall, poised for a breakout season of his own as a first-round pick who could play the Niners’ WR1, has gone through his share of injuries in just two seasons — though him being shot last summer was hardly his fault.
So, it’s possible trading for Moore is just the start. Moore, Gage, Turner, Chosen and Hodgins combined for just three catches in 2024, and with cutdowns coming around the league, the Niners will want to load up Purdy with wideouts to take the heat off Pearsall, Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey.
49ers Add Another Wide Receiver to the Injured List After Skyy Moore Trade