As 49ers’ injuries begin to stack up, potential roster issues arise

SANTA CLARA — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Injuries are starting to stack up for the San Francisco 49ers. Only this year, it’s taken just two weeks to become a problem.

Unlike last season, the issue isn’t with any of the combined 54 Pro Bowl nods on their roster.

But the blows keep coming further down the depth chart, and it’s left the Niners in an unusual bind. Decisions that might have once seemed straightforward now come with an extra layer of complication for head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.

“There’s a lot of variables there,” Shanahan said. “It’s complicated, and we’ve got to guess.”

So far, that guessing game has left two players that would have otherwise been no-brainers for injured reserve still on the 49ers’ active roster. Neither wide receiver Demarcus Robinson nor defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. will practice or play this week with high-ankle sprains — typically a 3-6 week injury — but they haven’t been placed on IR, either.

Since 2023, a trip to the injured reserve no longer necessarily rules a player out for the season. But teams are only designated eight slots that can be used to activate players from IR, and with another 15 games still to go, the 49ers are rapidly approaching their anticipated allotment. 

“That’s why it’s not simple just to put everybody on IR return because then eventually you’re not going to get one back,” Shanahan said. “We’re going to run out of them eventually, so that’s what we’re trying to balance out, see how those guys are this week.”

While Shanahan said both players are “most likely” headed for IR anyway, if either is trending toward the earlier side of the timeline to return to the field, it’s probably in the Niners’ best interest in the long-term to slightly hamper their 53-man roster in the near-term.

As it stands, Thompson and Robinson are effectively taking up two roster spots that could go to healthy players who could help them against the Cardinals on Sunday. But by placing them on IR, the 49ers risk not being able to get another player back down the road.

If the Niners have taught us anything, it’s impossible to predict what injuries could happen next. They still have most of the season to get through, and they’ve been losing players by the week. And many of them, the Niners are counting on returning this season.

Starting defensive tackle C.J. West this week became the latest player to go on IR who is expected to receive a return designation with bone chips in his knee that required surgery.

He joined a growing list of sidelined players the 49ers hope to eventually get back: Rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling, fellow receiver Christian Kirk, offensive lineman Austen Pleasants, defensive lineman Alfred Collins, cornerback Nate Hobbs and linebacker Nick Martin.

Even before accounting for Thompson or Robinson, that’s already seven players.

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It’s not necessarily a problem yet, but it’s growing likelier that it will be down the road.

Even for a team as injury-prone as the 49ers, it’s shocking that they’re being forced to weigh IR designations in the third week of September. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be a topic of discussion until December. But the 49ers have proven that they are far from normal.

What’s strange about the string of injuries has been the players afflicted.

It can hardly be considered the end of the world if Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Trent Williams and Mike Evans are all in good health.

The concerns over the 49ers’ injuries going into the season were twofold. Not only was there a track record of health problems, San Francisco’s roster was also the oldest in the NFL, with more players aged 30 or older than any other team in the league.

Yet, the oldest player sidelined is Kirk, at 29 years old. Of the 15 players currently on injured reserve, two are rookies and four are in their second seasons. The list also includes Ricky Pearsall, a first-round pick in 2023, and four players from the class before him.

So far, age hasn’t been a problem for the 49ers.

But another set of numbers may about to be.