Kyle Shanahan shared the latest injury report for the San Francisco 49ers and elaborated on a new concern on a defense that is already among the most injured in the entire NFL.
But, amid the bad news, the offense once again received positive updates after a challenging stretch.
49ers Will Turn to Curtis Robinson as Mike Linebacker
It has been a long season of injuries for the 49ers. After losing Fred Warner for the year with an ankle fracture/dislocation and relying on Tatum Bethune to take over as the Mike linebacker for the rest of the season, Bethune suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11 and is expected to miss multiple weeks.
Shanahan announced that Curtis Robinson will start on Monday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers, which means the 49ers will be down to their third-string linebacker. Constant changes on defense, especially at the position responsible for calling plays, can lead to communication errors, as seen in Week 10.
Bethune had been a serviceable replacement, considering Warner is widely regarded as the best at his position in the NFL. The second-year 49er was ranked 49th among linebackers on the PFSN Linebacker Impact Meter, with a score of 70.4.
In addition to Bethune, who did not practice on Thursday, kicker Eddy Piñeiro is also not expected to play on Monday against the Panthers. He will be replaced by Matt Gay, who signed with the team on Wednesday. Piñeiro had been one of the best kickers of the season, and he will be evaluated weekly as he deals with a hamstring issue.
DL Robert Beal Jr. did not practice as he remains in the concussion protocol, and linebacker Luke Gifford was limited while dealing with hip and neck issues.
Beyond that, all players practiced without restrictions, including quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Both returned from injury last week, and there had been questions about how they would respond after the game. They had no setbacks and will play without limitations in Week 12.
For Purdy, who finished Week 11 at No. 13 with a 76.2 (C) grade in PFSN’s NFL QBi Rankings, there had been significant concern that he might have a similar outcome to what happened when he returned against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4, but he confirmed after the game that he felt fine and stated his previous setback was an isolated incident.
The 49ers will once again need to rely on their offense to beat the Panthers while the defense deals with a depth-depleted roster. Encouragingly, the starting offense scored 41 points last week and finally resembled the caliber of unit Shanahan envisioned for this team.
