The San Francisco 49ers are limping into Week 3, already down nine players on injured reserve since August 30th. Defensive tackle C.J. West became the latest casualty this week, officially placed on IR with a knee injury, and it is absolutely gutting their defensive line depth right now. Talk about a tough break for a team trying to find its rhythm early in the season.
Shanahan Sounds the Alarm on Defensive Tackle Depth
Head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t sugarcoating it, and honestly, who could blame him? When asked about the situation, he said, “Anytime you have five D-tackles make a team and you’re down to two of them after two games, that’s always a concern for anybody.” That’s a stark reality check. Losing almost 60% of your starting D-tackle room just two weeks in? That’s not just a concern, it’s a huge problem. They had to scramble and sign Naquan Jones from the Vikings’ practice squad, and now they’re looking to three practice squad guys, Isaac Alarcon, Kevin Givens, and Sebastian Valdez, to step up. Shanahan knows it, saying, “We’ve got guys there in this building, so we’ve got to see how those guys step it up.” They *have* to, because the alternative isn’t pretty.
Starters Sitting Out and Mike Evans’ Hip Woes
The defensive tackle depth isn’t their only headache. On Wednesday, a whopping eight players sat out practice. Five of them are starters, including some serious talent that you just can’t afford to miss. We’re talking about *DE Nick Bosa, *LB Dre Greenlaw, *RB Christian McCaffrey, and *LT Trent Williams, all out for “not injury related/rest.” While rest days are common, it’s still a big group to have off. Add to that *WR Mike Evans, who is dealing with a hip injury. Evans, a big offseason unrestricted free agent signing, started strong in Week 1, playing 75 percent of snaps, catching six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. But last Sunday against the Dolphins, that hip clearly limited him to just 28 snaps, 54 percent of the game, with only three receptions for 54 yards. Seeing a new star already hobbled? Not ideal. Also sidelined were DE Romello Height (hand), WR Demarcus Robinson (ankle), and DT James Thompson Jr. (ankle). To try and bolster the receiving corps, the 49ers did sign Brandin Cooks to the practice squad.
The Cardinals have their own injury issues too, with five players sitting out practice and three limited, but it’s the 49ers who look like they’re patching holes on the fly. This Sunday’s game against Arizona is going to be a real test of that “next man up” mentality. You gotta wonder how many more hits they can take before it really starts to show on the field.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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