The San Francisco 49ers are sitting pretty at 2-0, looking like one of the teams to beat to begin the season, even with a brutal wave of injuries hitting the wide receiver room and defensive line. They are absolutely turning over every leaf to keep this roster competitive, battling serious attrition in key spots.
Who’s Catching the Ball for the Niners? Maybe a Practice Squad Guy!
Talk about a scramble! With a slew of injuries absolutely wrecking their wide receiver depth, the Niners just made their latest move: bringing in veteran Brandin Cooks to the practice squad. This isn’t some rookie flyer, folks. We’re talking about a guy who was rocking it for the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints just last year in 2025. He’s a known quantity, and if he gets active while Demarcus Robinson is sidelined, you gotta wonder what that means for Jordan Watkins. Watkins has been inactive for the first two weeks, stuck behind KhaDarel Hodge, another guy they snagged in August. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is crossing his fingers that Christian Kirk can return to practice next week, but there are absolutely no guarantees there. Until Robinson and Kirk are back on the field, the Niners are going to lean hard on Hodge, Jacob Cowing, and potentially Cooks. Realistically, that likely means Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Mike Evans are going to be seeing a whole lot more targets coming their way.
Defensive Line Woes and What’s Next
Wide receiver isn’t the only spot where the 49ers are looking a bit thin. Defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. is nursing a high-ankle sprain, which is never a quick fix. What’s surprising, though, is that the Niners didn’t even work out any defensive tackles this week before getting back to practice. That means they’re literally going to roll with the guys they’ve got on the roster right now. Keion White might need to step up and play more snaps, and Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris might have to get creative, leaning into more 5-man fronts to get Jaden Dugger more action. Morris definitely has his work cut out for him for at least a couple of more weeks until Mykel Williams is eligible to return. Williams is expected to solve quite a few of the Niners’ problems, but it’s totally unfair to expect him to hit the ground running after a serious season-ending knee injury. Not every athlete bounces back like they never left, even if Nick Bosa makes it look easy.
Despite these headaches, the 49ers are 2-0 and look like one of the teams to beat early on. Are they really feeling confident in this squad, or do we need to pump the brakes and revisit that question after they run into a couple of playoff defenses in the coming weeks? They gotta decide if they’re making a move ahead of the deadline to stay competitive.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Niners Nation.
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