{"id":464533,"date":"2026-09-15T14:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464533\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T14:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:32:15","slug":"49ers-mailbag-whats-next-for-san-francisco-after-dezhaun-striblings-and-alfred-collins-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464533\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers Mailbag: What\u2019s next for San Francisco after De\u2019Zhaun Stribling\u2019s and Alfred Collins\u2019 injuries?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Francisco 49ers looked strong on Thursday. But how do they become stronger?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the question on everyone\u2019s mind this week after the team lost a defensive tackle, Alfred Collins, for the season and a wide receiver, De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, for an undetermined amount of time. Will the 49ers add a receiver? And which defensive linemen are available after serious injuries to Collins and Sam Okuayinonu?<\/p>\n

We answer these questions and more in this week\u2019s mailbag. Thanks for all the great queries, which, as usual, have been lightly edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

49ers win over Rams showcased ‘best-case scenario for offense’<\/p>\n

Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen<\/p>\n

What happens at slot receiver while Stribling is out? \u2014 Bryan C.<\/p>\n

One of the bigger surprises from the game was that Stribling wasn\u2019t just a slot receiver. He was a starting receiver. Of the 21 snaps he took before leaving the game with an ankle injury \u2014 the most snaps of any 49ers receiver to that point \u2014 only five came out of the slot, with the other 16 outside.<\/p>\n

As noted in this week\u2019s minutia minute<\/a>, Mike Evans worked out of the slot to begin the game, with his first three catches \u2014 all third-down conversions \u2014 coming when he was in the slot. Here\u2019s how the slot snaps stacked up on Thursday:<\/p>\n

Kyle Juszczyk: 11
\nDeebo Samuel: 9
\nEvans: 7
\nDemarcus Robinson: 7
\nGeorge Kittle: 6
\nStribling: 5
\nLuke Farrell: 3<\/p>\n

All of which is to say that the 49ers have a lot of options and were already rotating a lot in the slot before Stribling was injured.<\/p>\n

Do you see Deebo Samuel\u2019s playing time and role expanding, or do they keep Demarcus Robinson at the Z and keep Deebo fresh on limited plays again? \u2014 Ezra M.<\/p>\n

I think both players\u2019 snap counts will rise as a result of Stribling\u2019s injury, but perhaps Robinson\u2019s will rise more.<\/p>\n

Keeping Samuel fresh seems like the right idea. For example, his kickoff return to begin the second half Thursday hasn\u2019t gotten enough attention. That was a big play for a team that badly wanted to send a message at the start of the third quarter. Samuel might be more effective occasionally being featured on plays than he would if he were a nearly every-down receiver.<\/p>\n

As for Robinson, he and Purdy seem to have a good connection. Last year was a strange one for Robinson. He appeared to develop a rapport with Purdy during training camp. But then he had to sit out the first three games due to a suspension, and when he came back, Purdy was injured. Robinson didn\u2019t seem to have the same chemistry with Mac Jones (whose rapport was with Kendrick Bourne instead), and it wasn\u2019t until Purdy was back and feeling like himself late in the season that Robinson became a real factor.<\/p>\n

With the injury to Stribling, do you think the 49ers are now in the market for a WR? \u2014 Brandon A.<\/p>\n

No, I don\u2019t think so. They can promote KhaDarel Hodge from the practice squad. And they can activate Christian Kirk from injured reserve after Week 4.<\/p>\n

With tight end Jake Tonges (knee) apparently out for a while, do you see the 49ers going for a street signing, or will they go with their internal options? \u2014 Alberto R.<\/p>\n

I see them going with an internal option. They\u2019ll probably promote Brayden Willis, who made the initial 53-man roster, from the practice squad. Practice squadder Khalil Dinkins, an undrafted rookie, is also a possibility. However, he joined training camp late and might be a better option deeper into the season.<\/p>\n

So obviously the 49ers are going to win the Super Bowl. To temper our enthusiasm, what things from the game would you say stood out as areas of concern despite the big win? \u2014 Jason H.<\/p>\n

There were more injuries. And a defense that finished with a league-low 20 sacks last season had zero on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Which free-agent defensive tackle and\/or defensive end could they sign as a decent depth piece with some upside? \u2014 Marco S.<\/p>\n

I know they just lost Collins<\/a>, a starter at defensive tackle. But I still think the bigger need is at defensive end.<\/p>\n

Though Mykel Williams is technically a defensive end, he\u2019ll be able to play a lot of defensive tackle snaps \u2014 especially on obvious passing downs \u2014 when he\u2019s back after Week 4. The same goes for Keion White.<\/p>\n

There are also a lot more quality defensive ends available, a list that includes Haason Reddick, Leonard Floyd and Joey Bosa. Here\u2019s how I\u2019d classify them:<\/p>\n

\u2022 If the team wants another Romello Height-like player or is worried it\u2019s not getting enough out of Height, Reddick would be a good solution. He\u2019s a lighter-bodied edge player who\u2019s played in systems similar to the one defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is running this year.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If the team wants a dependable, every-down defensive end, Floyd is the answer. He\u2019s familiar to both the 49ers\u2019 brass and Morris. Yes, Floyd turned 34 last week and had only 3.5 sacks last year for Morris\u2019 Falcons. But the 49ers aren\u2019t in a position to look down their noses at 3.5 sacks. Their sack leader last year had four.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If the 49ers want a second-half-of-the-season boost, how about Bosa? The team might be worried about how Nick Bosa\u2019s oft-injured older brother might hold up over a 17-game season. But an eight-game season seems reasonable. Joey had five sacks and 54 quarterback pressures for the Bills last year. That\u2019s not elite, but it\u2019s better than what the 49ers have opposite Nick at the moment.<\/p>\n

Another interesting option is Yetur Gross-Matos, whose recent stint with the 49ers was marred by a knee issue. Gross-Matos didn\u2019t play or practice much, but when he was on the field, he made an impact. His 16.3 percent pass-rush win rate last season was second best on the team behind Bosa\u2019s 20 percent rate.<\/p>\n

Gross-Matos is currently rehabilitating from that knee injury and isn\u2019t ready to play. That could change by midseason.<\/p>\n

After one game \u2026 early choice for rookie who makes the biggest impact this year? My vote is Gracen Halton. \u2014 Rob C.<\/p>\n

There seem to be several good choices, including Halton, Kaelon Black, Jaden Dugger and, depending on how much time he misses, Stribling.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll go with Dugger. He played more than half the defensive snaps and spent a lot of time rushing the quarterback against the Rams. He seemed a touch tentative on Thursday, which ought to disappear the more he plays.<\/p>\n

Do you see Malik Mustapha splitting time with Ji\u2019Ayir Brown or riding the bench this season? Brown is an expensive free agent in 2027. \u2014 David L.<\/p>\n

The 49ers never dole out big money for safeties \u2014 ironic given who their general manager is \u2014 so it\u2019s hard to see them bringing back Brown for big money, whether he\u2019s a 17-game starter this season or not.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think he gets the hook yet. But the 49ers had no issues rotating the safeties last year, and they had one of their best games at the position, the wild-card win in Philadelphia, with Mustapha and Marques Sigle in the lineup.<\/p>\n

Lots of online talk about the \u201cbanana motion\u201d from the Niners in Australia. Is that something the NFL could consider and outlaw\/tell officials to clamp down on midseason? \u2014 Danny J.<\/p>\n

An opposing coach could pull the officials aside before the game and ask them to keep an eye on the motion. But there\u2019s nothing illegal about it unless Juszczyk is clearly moving closer to the line of scrimmage at the snap. During his banana motions on Thursday, he seemed to be just coming out of his turn at the snap.<\/p>\n

With Ricky Pearsall missing the entire year on IR, how does that affect his rookie contract? I keep hearing that because he will miss the entire season, the 49ers get an extra year tacked onto his rookie contract. Is that true? \u2014 Jeff E.<\/p>\n

No. Sometimes an injury will cause a player\u2019s contract to toll \u2014 pause and extend for another year \u2014 but that happens only if he lands on the non-football injury list (meaning he was injured away from team activities) and misses the final year of his contract. Pearsall is in the third year of a four-year rookie contract and is on injured reserve, not the NFI list.<\/p>\n

Very curious about two things: How is your personal jet lag (obvious insight into how the Niners might be feeling)? And how big of a deal is it that Kaelon Black looked so good and they trusted him (feels huge!)? \u2014 Doug H.<\/p>\n

1. My jet lag isn\u2019t bad. I arrived at SFO at 7:55 a.m. Sunday, resisted taking a nap (even while watching the Falcons-Steelers ZZZZfest!), conked out at 8 p.m., then slept for 11 \u00bd hours. I feel like I could lift a dump truck over my head or block Myles Garrett (OK, maybe an injured Myles Garrett).<\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s big. Black has the trust of Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner. The last time you could say that about a rookie tailback was 2021, when Elijah Mitchell got 19 carries in the season opener. Of course, he got those only after Raheem Mostert went down early with a knee injury that ended up knocking him out the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

I am impressed by the win, but also nervous. The 49ers looked good, but the Rams looked horrible. Does this win reflect more on how good the 49ers were or just how bad the Rams were due to being unprepared from no preseason play and sluggish from jet lag<\/a>? \u2014 Vernon F.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t it be both?<\/p>\n

It should be noted that the 49ers weren\u2019t at full strength \u2014 or full pep \u2014 either. George Kittle and Dre Greenlaw are clearly working their way back to peak form following injuries, for example. And the 49ers played most of the game without their top picks from the last three drafts: Pearsall, Williams and Stribling.<\/p>\n

I read that the team took their cooks to Australia. Do they actually have a cafeteria\/dining area at their practice facility to prepare meals throughout the day? \u2014 Michael C.<\/p>\n

They took their head chef and dietitian, who worked with the hotel staff on meals. They would have done that if they were spending the week in Colorado Springs or The Greenbrier, though. That is, they have a lot of practice when it comes to week-long stays.<\/p>\n

What was your favorite wildlife sighting in Australia? \u2014 Brian P.<\/p>\n

The day before the game was an off day. So I took the ol\u2019 binocs to Yarra Bend Park hoping to see parrots. I was disappointed. I saw only a few bird species, all of which I\u2019d already seen on my walks in downtown Melbourne from the hotel to the practice facility.<\/p>\n

What I didn\u2019t plan to see were bats with three-foot wingspans, and I certainly didn\u2019t expect to see thousands of bats \u2014 technically grey-headed flying foxes, see below. I was the only human in the park, and at one point I worried I might get carried away like Dorothy by the flying monkeys in \u201cThe Wizard of Oz.\u201d But it was still my favorite sighting.<\/p>\n

Matt Barrows’ guide to the animals of Australia<\/p>\n

Matt Barrows<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Francisco 49ers looked strong on Thursday. But how do they become stronger? That\u2019s the question on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,296,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-464533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}