2 min read • September 11, 2020
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Jimmy Garropolo - QB
The 49ers quarterback was healthy for the entire 2019 season playing in every game including the Super Bowl. He tore his ACL in 2018 and recovered nicely, but look for this to be an even better year for him in terms of confidence in his knee as he is now at 100%. We still expect him to have learned his lesson and not do too much in extending plays as getting those extra yards by scrambling is how he got hurt. At 28 years old, he has only 116 rushing yards to his name, so he is not, and will not be a threat to run going forward as Garropolo would rather thrive as a pocket passer. The former Patriot played well in his first full season (3978 yards, 69.1% completion rate, 27-13 TD/INT) and should grow in Shanahan’s offense now that he is 100% healthy.
Tevin Coleman - RB
2019 free agent signing Tevin Coleman did not make a big splash with the 49ers and began his stint injured missing Weeks 2 through 4 with an ankle sprain. Once he suited up again, Coleman put up good games against Washington in Week 7 and Carolina in Week 8, but was relatively tame through the rest of the season. With Raheem Mostert’s future finally settled, Matt Breida gone and Jerick McKinnon with continued question marks regarding his knee, perhaps this situation can establish Coleman again as a solid 1B back just like he was with Devonta Freeman in Atlanta. Medically, there is no reason for him not to excel.
Jerrick McKinnon - RB
In our 2019 Preseason Injury Preview, we were correct to be down on Jerick McKinnon's season last year since he was coming off an ACL tear and needed platelet-rich plasma injections. However, we could not have anticipated a second surgery that caused him to miss all of last season. Now with a restructured contract, McKinnon is back to complete for touches on offense in 2020 but my pessimism still exists. The natural history of an ACL recovery is that it usually goes smoothly, but when it doesn't the rocky road persists. Generally speaking, any player that misses two seasons rarely returns to be impactful. Before his health declined, McKinnon put up over 500 rushing yards in both 2016 and 2017 while displaying above-average catching ability in his short career with Minnesota. We hope to be proven wrong, but we are not high on the 28-year-old McKinnon given his health history.
Kyle Juszczyk - FB
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is as tough as they come. The Harvard product missed just over a month with a knee MCL sprain, but returned to play well until losing dramatically in the Super Bowl. He put up 100 total yards and 1 TD on 7 catches and two rushing attempts in the final four games of the season. If the 49ers could have hung on to win the Super Bowl, Juszczyk might have been a MVP candidate, given his pivotal blocking and three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. MCL's heal reliably and we don't see an issue for the stud fullback going into 2020.
Brandon Aiyuk - WR
Brandon Aiyuk had surgery this offseason as he enters the NFL after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. Core muscle surgery usually has a reliable recovery and return meaning the issue should not hamper the Sun Devil moving forward. The bigger issue for all rookies during the pandemic is exposure to learning the offense given the lack of a true offseason program and a shortened training camp without preseason games. The 49ers have a need at wide receiver since second-year wideout Deebo Samuel is starting on the PUP list with a broken foot, and Aiyuk may need to wait to debut as he is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp. This is a situation to watch as it may force the 49ers to rush back Deebo Samuel.
Jalen Hurd -WR
Jalen Hurd's rookie season was understandably a wash out as he suffered a back injury before the season began. Lower back stress fractures do not heal quickly. Hurd missed the entire regular season as expected, but he has been cleared this offseason. There is a chance of recurrence but the back should not be an issue going forward. Hurd was flashing his potential at training camp before the former Golden Bear suffered a torn ACL effectively ending another season in the NFL. Hopefully Hurd can recover and continue to carve a role in San Francisco but this has now become even more difficult due to the recent injury.
Deebo Samuel - WR
We opined in the middle of June that Deebo Samuel was likely to miss the start of the season and would be a PUP candidate. He put up 802 yards on 57 catches in his rookie season last year, including an impressive 8.3 yards after catch average. There is no reason to rush back this year but with the recent Brandon Aiyuk injury the 49ers receiving corps continues to take major hits which may change their original plan. Second year receiver Jalen Hurd has yet to play an NFL game and will miss this year with a torn ACL while depth wideout Richie James has been out since June with a wrist fracture. James is still on the active Non-Football injury list and is likely to miss the first week at least. New wide receiver J.J. Nelson, who was signed due to the numerous wideout injuries, was placed on season ending injured reserve with a knee injury. The combination of injuries at this position may force San Francisco's hand with Samuel. It has long been my impression that the 49ers don't want to push him to avoid the chance of a second surgery. In a perfect world, we believe the 49ers would like to bring him off the active PUP list midseason due to the slow healing nature of the fracture but at this point they may no longer have the luxury of being patient. There would be a higher risk of recurrence for this foot fracture if he’s rushed back.
George Kittle -TE
George Kittle is as tough as they come, and has played through his share of injuries. During the first play on Halloween, Kittle suffered a potentially season-ending hyperextension knee injury only to return to the game. He ended up finishing the game on the sidelines with a knee bone bruise and missed several weeks due to the injury. There were reports of an ankle fracture (likely a chip fracture) that he returned quickly from. The Iowa product has been playing through a right shoulder labral tear where there is instability, and he doesn't use a wrap/strap to keep it from dislocating. Interestingly, he did not have offseason surgery to avoid missing workout days. The shoulder is the only thing to be careful of, but Kittle is a tough nut to crack. He finished his 2019 campaign with 85 snags for 1,053 receiving yards and five touchdowns which landed him 1st Team All-Pro honors. These accomplishments landed him a five-year, $75 million deal in the offseason.
Jordan Reed - TE
Jordan Reed signed a one year contract with the 49ers after many thought his career was over. The 30-year old has yet to finish a 16 game season, and didn’t play at all in 2019, but is a stellar receiving threat when he’s on the field. Unfortunately, he has had seven documented concussions and the last one took him six months to be cleared to return. This certainly is ominous given that subsequent concussions come easier and linger longer. The next hit could be his last but we hope he can avoid another concussion and ultimately retire without the development of CTE.
IR/Opt-Out List
WR Travis Benjamin
WR Chris Thompson
WR Jalen Hurd
WR Tavon Austin
T Shon Coleman
C Jake Brendel
C Weston Richburg
G Ross Reynolds
DT Jullian Taylor
DE Ronald Blair
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