Heading into the Week 17 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions have been dealing with major injury issues across the defense–notably on the line. The 49ers have also been devastated by injuries all season, too.
For Monday night’s game, the focus for the 49ers injuries is the offensive line. As is the case for the Lions missing three starters on the defensive line (Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Marcus Davenport), the Niners too look to be without three starting offensive linemen.
Left tackle Trent Williams, an 11-time Pro Bowler, is now on injured reserve with an ankle injury. That’s the biggest blow, akin to the Lions losing Penei Sewell. The Niners are 1-6 without Williams in the last two seasons.
Right tackle Colton McKivitz missed Friday’s practice with a knee injury and it doesn’t look promising for the Monday night game. Left guard Aaron Banks injured his knee in the 49ers’ Week 16 loss to the Dolphins and is also out for the season.
The only regular starters are center Jake Brendel and right guard Dominick Puni, a fourth-round rookie who has played quite well.
Williams’ regular backup, Jaylon Moore, is also dealing with a quad injury and isn’t expected to play. Spencer Burford would be the next man up, but he’s out too. Another reserve, Ben Bartch, is also on injured reserve. San Francisco’s tackles for the game against the Lions could very well be Charlie Heck and Austen Pleasants. They signed Heck off the Cardinals practice squad just this week, while Pleasants had joined the 49ers practice squad earlier this month.