Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers are running out of pass-catching options in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season against the Los Angeles Rams. With rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling ruled out with an ankle injury and tight end Jake Tonges being carted off the field, the offense has lost two pivotal pieces, and that’s far from the end of it.
Entering Week 1’s showdown in Melbourne, Australia, the 49ers had seven injured players on offense. That number is now up to nine following Stribling and Tonges’ setbacks against the Rams. San Francisco has seven players injured on defense, too.
San Francisco and untimely injuries have become synonymous in the NFL in recent years. Playing as far away as possible from Levi’s Stadium—and the electrical substation buzz and conspiracy theory—the 49ers can’t escape their old fate. No other team has an injured group as large as the 49ers who are missing a total of 16 players in their 53-man roster.
Full list of San Francisco’s injured players
The full list of injured players on offense features: RB Isaac Guerendo (pectoral), WR Ricky Pearsall (out for the season after knee surgery), WR De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle), WR Christian Kirk (calf), WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee), TE Jack Tonges (knee), LT Austen Pleasants (knee), LG Nick Zakelj (undisclosed), and C Brett Toth (concussion).
Jake Tonges of the 49ers.
Kyle Shanahan’s team isn’t much better on defense, either. Injured players are: DE Sam Okuayinonu (foot), DE Mikail Kamara (torn ACL, out for the season), DT Alfred Collins (knee), DE Mykel Williams (recovering from torn ACL and meniscus), LB Nick Martin (hamstring), FS Darrick Foster (undisclosed), and CB Nate Hobbs (groin).
Rough debut
Suffering injuries in the first half of the NFL’s international game in Australia, neither Stribling nor Tonges recorded any catches during Week 1 against Los Angeles.
For Stribling, it was his career debut, whereas Tonges was hoping to get off to a hot start after his promising 2025 season, when he filled in for George Kittle after Kittle suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.
In the Land Down Under, it was a harsh season opener for the Niners in the medical department. Given how recent seasons have gone, though, it’s only par for the course.
