A sports.yahoo.com report is examining the San Francisco 49ers’ handling of injuries after rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling hurt his ankle in a 27-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Stribling returned after the team’s medical staff cleared him, but later sustained a deltoid sprain and is expected to miss at least four games.
Analyst Grant Cohn said the situation was similar to injuries involving quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Purdy suffered turf toe in Week 1 last season, returned in Week 4 and then missed six games. Pearsall sustained a PCL injury in that Week 4 game, came back after seven weeks and was injured again in Week 15.
He is expected to miss the entire current season because of the PCL issue.
Cohn wrote that the 49ers should consider firing their training staff and questioned how many players could be hurt again after accelerated recoveries. Since Kyle Shanahan became head coach in 2017, San Francisco has experienced serious injuries across several seasons. The team went 6-11 in 2024 and 12-5 the following season while continuing to lose players.
A theory involving an electrical substation near the facility has no empirical evidence, the report said. During the summer, Christian McCaffrey missed several weeks of practice, while Nick Bosa was held out after knee problems following his ACL tear in Week 3 of 2025. The report identified Athlon Sports as its original publisher.