Injuries have been the one constant for the San Francisco 49ers over the last couple of years. Going into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, they were without tight end George Kittle (hamstring), quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) and wide receiver Jauan Jennings (ankle/shoulder).
They defeated the Cardinals by one point on a last-second field goal by new kicker Eddy Piñeiro, but the injury bug took another big bite out of their roster when star defensive end Nick Bosa went down with a torn ACL. He will be forced to miss the rest of the season.
Even worse, rookie defensive tackle CJ West has a broken thumb, and according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, he will have surgery.
“He’ll have surgery [Tuesday],” Shanahan told reporters via conference call, per NBC Sports. “We’ll update later in the week on him.”
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However, Shanahan also said that West may be able to continue playing despite the injury.
“He’ll have a chance, they say,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see how it goes this week but he’ll have a chance at the end of the week with a cast and, if not, he should be good the following week, but we’ve got to see how this week goes with him.”
West is part of a revamped San Francisco front seven. He was a fourth-round draft pick out of Indiana University Bloomington, a school he transferred to after spending four years at Kent State University.
He had earned a third-team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) nod for the 2023 season when he posted 40 total tackles (20 solo), seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
San Francisco’s youngsters on defense have, by and large, been stepping up so far this season. Defensive lineman Mykel Williams, the No. 11 pick in April’s draft, has made some key defensive stops, and safety Marques Sigle and cornerback Upton Stout, two other rookies, have shown some promise.
Third-year linebacker Dee Winters is starting to look like an adequate replacement for the departed Dre Greenlaw. He’s second on the team with 22 combined tackles (15 solo) through three games.
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The Niners will host Travis Hunter and the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming Sunday before they head south to face the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Oct. 2.