The 49ers’ protection has encountered one other notable harm. Defensive finish Yetur Gross-Matos was positioned on injured reserve Saturday, per a staff announcement.
A knee harm will maintain the free-agent pickup sidelined for no less than the following 4 video games. Gross-Matos was inactive for the season opener, however he dealt with a daily defensive workload throughout every of the next three video games. His absence will compound the accidents San Francisco is already coping with within the entrance seven particularly.
Defensive deal with Javon Hargrave is likely out for the remainder of the season as a result of a partial triceps tear. Alongside the sting, 2022 second-rounder Drake Jackson was shut down for 2024 again in August, after he was unable to get better from the knee harm which restricted him to eight video games final yr. Jackson’s absence paved the way in which for Leonard Floyd and Gross-Matos to deal with a notable workload of their respective debut 49ers campaigns.
The latter started his profession in Carolina. He performed out his rookie contract whereas spending time as each a base finish and a stand-up outdoors linebacker. Gross-Matos served as a full-time starter in 2022 and his 4.5 sacks that yr marked a profession excessive. He inked a two-year, $18M pact in free company in a bid to return to a everlasting beginning position. The previous second-rounder logged a 46% snap share with out recording a sack in his first three San Francisco contests. It will likely be a number of weeks till he returns to motion and has the chance to make extra of a statistical impression.
Within the meantime, Floyd will proceed deal with beginning duties alongside Nick Bosa on the sting. Floyd additionally signed a two-year pact in the course of the spring and the 32-year-old got here to the Bay Space with excessive expectations after logging no less than 9 sacks in every of the previous 4 seasons. He has solely registered one to date, however with Jackson and now Gross-Matos out of the image the Bosa-Floyd tandem might be leaned on closely within the pass-rush division. Notable manufacturing from these two would assist the 49ers overcome no less than a few of their harm issues as they appear to enhance from a 2-2 begin.