The injuries continue to pile up in Santa Clara, as San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Monday that rookie WR Jordan Watkins suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday’s preseason game against the Broncos and is expected to be out about a month.
“[Watkins] didn’t even feel it after the game,” Shanahan said. “He was surprised. He actually reported some other things, came in the next day saying how it was a little sore and that maybe we should look at it. We weren’t that worried about it until we got an MRI and it showed a high ankle. So, who knows the date on those, but those usually take about a month to me.”
This latest injury comes as the wide receiver corps is currently without Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Jacob Cowing, though Shanahan said Cowing will return to practice on Tuesday.
Shanahan said the 49ers are eyeing a Week 6 return for Aiyuk, who is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee that he sustained in last season’s Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Shanahan laid out a similar timeline for S Malik Mustapha and QB Kurtis Rourke, both of whom are also recovering from ACL injuries.
“Whether it’s Mustafa, whether it’s Rourke or whether it’s Brandon, they’re all at different stages, but where they’re at, I always see them around Week 6, which means that could be Week 10 – it means it could be Week 5 – but that’s the area where I start thinking about it,” Shanahan said.
Meanwhile, the 49ers are still without Jennings, who has been dealing with a calf injury since the early days of training camp. The presumed WR1 had this same calf issue in training camp of 2024 and in this year’s OTAs. It is worth noting that it was reported last month that Jennings was looking for a new contract, or a trade, though Shanahan has said the wide receiver has not formally requested a trade.
Beyond that, the 49ers are awaiting word from the league regarding a suspension for Demarcus Robinson, stemming from a misdemeanor DUI, to which he pleaded not contest in June.
“I’m pretty anxious,” Robinson told reporters on Monday. “Just waiting on the outcome to see what happens with that. I really don’t know the timeframe.”
The 49ers will practice in Santa Clara on Tuesday and then have a joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday in Henderson, Nevada ahead of Saturday’s preseason game.