The 49ers won’t have breakout rookie De’Zhaun Stribling for “close to 10 weeks.” That was the bombshell head coach Kyle Shanahan dropped during his Wednesday afternoon press conference.
Shanahan revealed that the wide receiver underwent ankle surgery and offered a timeline that came as somewhat of a surprise. It was initially reported that Stribling would miss at least a month with a deltoid ligament sprain.
He prefaced the update by acknowledging that he was “not exactly sure” about the timeline, but added, “We feel good that he’ll get back this season.”
That is a far cry from missing a month or so.
The 49ers intend to place Stribling on injured reserve, guaranteeing that he will miss at least the next four games. Based on Shanahan’s remarks Wednesday, the rookie now appears likely to miss most of the 2026 season.
The 49ers have endured unfortunate injury luck with several recent draft picks. Stribling, Malik Mustapha and Ricky Pearsall have all suffered significant injuries since joining San Francisco.
The Ole Miss product has not yet been placed on injured reserve, but the move is expected within the next few days.
