49ers’ Javon Kinlaw ready for bounce-back following season-ending knee surgery

After battling through a knee injury stemming from before the season started, San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw elected to have season-ending surgery on his knee, which Kyle Shanahan confirmed to reporters Friday.

"Kinlaw ended up having his surgery," Shanahan told reporters. "They went in there, looked at the stuff. He'll end up going on IR. He'll be out this year. I think we'll have an announcement on it. There's a lot of things that went into it, that they found and things like that, but I think the good news is they feel they solved the problem."

Kinlaw, who has played in four of the six games this season, has been on the injury report every week this season, had previously said in July that he "had no injury", following concerns about his knee during the offseason.

The second-year defensive tackle has had his fair share of injuries in college, which was why he was red-flagged by some teams during the 2020 NFL Draft, leading him into San Francisco's lap with the 14th pick. Kinlaw's Senior Bowl was cut short in 2020 following a case of knee-tendinitis, as well as surgery to repair a torn labrum following his 2018 college season. Despite the constant injuries, Kinlaw had a fierce mentality, missing just one game during his three-year college career.

In addition, he underwent a minor knee procedure following last season to reduce swelling, which was diagnosed as a "routine clean-up", after he missed the final two games of the 2020 NFL season. However, at the time, it was reported that Kinlaw would be fully healthy in time for the beginning of San Francisco's April off-season program.

Following his season-ending surgery, Kinlaw shared a message for all of his doubters, indicating his mentality during the tough times.


While this will be the second straight season that Kinlaw's season will be cut short due to injury, don't count the 24-year old out just yet. It's unknown at this moment whether Kinlaw will be available for the beginning of training camp next season.

During his time healthy, Kinlaw was certainly a force in the run-game, sometimes needing two blockers to occupy his presence, which was exactly what the 49ers drafted him for after trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts in return for their first-round pick in 2020.

He'll look to bounce back and get his career back on track in 2022, where the 49ers will certainly have some tough decisions to make regarding roster personnel with their quarterback situation and the amount of one-year deals that San Francisco currently holds on their roster.

• Rohan Chakravarthi
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  Rohan Chakravarthi
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