The San Francisco 49ers may have a pretty major injury-related issue to solve when they open their regular season slate against the New York Jets on Monday night.
With the contract issues with Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams getting resolved, and Christian McCaffrey looking on track to play after suffering a calf injury, a knee sprain for defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos has flown under the radar.
Gross-Matos suffered a knee sprain in the preseason finale that head coach Kyle Shanahan called a ‘week-to-week’ injury. Shanahan also expressed some hope that Gross-Matos would be able to practice by Week 1.
That hasn’t been the case. The 49ers have listed the DE as a non-participant in practice for each of their first two sessions of the regular season. Non-participations on consecutive days to start a week typically don’t bode well for the injured player’s chances of suiting up.
If Gross-Matos can’t play, the 49ers might be in trouble at the most important position on their defense. Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd and Robert Beal Jr. are the only other DEs on the active roster.
Bosa and Floyd have been productive pros for a long time. They figure to start every game for the 49ers. Things get dicey after that.
Beal is still largely unproven though after playing in just four games last season as a rookie sixth-round pick out of the University of Georgia.
As far as internal depth the 49ers have Alex Barrett, Sam Okuayinonu and Jonathan Garvin. That trio has played in a combined 53 games with Garvin accounting for 38 of them. He has 1.5 sacks in those 38 contests. Okuayinonu has 0.5 sacks in six games. Barrett, a practice squad mainstay for the 49ers since 2020, has never gotten the quarterback on the ground in his nine career games.
It’s likely one of that trio would be elevated to the active roster for Monday’s game if Gross-Matos can’t suit up. That leaves the 49ers extremely shallow at DE. They’ll need big games from their established stars on the defensive line, and they’ll need the secondary to step up if a lack of pass rush becomes a problem for San Francisco.
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