The San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver room has been ravaged by injuries, forcing the team to trade for Skyy Moore from the Kansas City Chiefs just to add another healthy body to the mix. While Moore was considered a disappointment in Kansas City, the 49ers hope he can provide immediate depth as the team navigates an already challenging start to their 2025 campaign.
Brandon Aiyuk is unlikely to contribute early as he recovers from ACL and MCL injuries suffered in October 2024. He is expected to begin the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Jauan Jennings continues to battle a lingering calf injury, rookie Jordan Watkins is sidelined with a high-ankle sprain, and Jacob Cowing remains hampered by a nagging hamstring issue.
The latest setback came when Russell Gage suffered a sprained MCL, sidelining him for seven to 10 days. While not long-term, it adds to the mounting concerns. In addition, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that veteran Demarcus Robinson will serve a three-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy—a punishment the team is currently appealing.
Lynch on Gage's injury and Robinson's suspension
General manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday morning. He revealed that the 49ers actually feared Gage's injury might have been worse, based on how it initially looked.
"That's one of those ones, we were out at practice, we were doing one-on-ones, and at first, I thought he had his ankle," Lynch said. "It looked like he buckled. I think, given what I saw on the field—Russell's been having a really good camp—and I was standing with Kyle right when it happened, and we just said, 'Oh, no,' because it looked like his leg buckled.
"So, I think a slight MCL sprain was actually welcome news. He will miss some time. We expect him to be ready for our opener, and I think that was somewhat—it's not ideal—but it's better than the alternative with what we saw. But he is working through that."
On Robinson's suspension, Lynch echoed Shanahan's comments, saying the team is waiting on the league's final ruling following the appeal.
"We'll be respectful of that, and when the league makes their final determination, everybody will know right along with us," Lynch said. "I think we're at that stage of it, and you guys will know when we will know."
Optimism despite the setbacks
Despite the rash of injuries, Lynch insists the 49ers remain confident in their talent at wide receiver.
"We like our players. We like our group of guys," Lynch affirmed. "It's just who's available right now. That's not great. Receivers, it's always a tough room. The guys do a ton of running, a ton of deceleration—we call it snapping down. It's tough on their bodies. We try to account for that.
"With Aiyuk being on PUP, we started with 13 guys. And now, we're down to—at one point yesterday, I think we had seven out there. So, there's always attrition there, and you're always weighing that. How do we best take care of those guys? But we need to get better, and we've got a young group on our team."
That young group, along with the veterans, needs practice reps to improve—but that's difficult when injuries sideline so many players. Still, risk is part of the game whenever a player steps onto the field.
"There is a way to keep guys healthy, and that's to do nothing," Lynch added. "But we want to get better. So, we evaluate everything, but it's where we're at right now. We'll have enough guys, come Week 1, to put a formidable group out there, and then, we'll get some guys back throughout the course of the season, and we'll be okay there."
Robbie Chosen making his case
One player taking advantage of every rep is veteran Robbie Chosen, who fans likely initially viewed simply as a camp body. However, he has impressed coaches and could earn a spot on the 53-man roster—especially if there remain lingering injuries throughout the wide receiver group.
"Robbie's done a nice job, been a welcome surprise," Lynch said. "He can still get it. He can still run. The beauty today—we never had it—but these guys wear GPS things on their back, and after every practice, he'll clock some of the highest speeds we have out here. Robbie, he can still go, and he's starting to make some plays. We all saw it at the end of the Raiders game, but we see it out here at practice.
"As long as he continues to do that, there's a place for him. We've got to see how the room shakes out, but Robbie's done a nice job for us, and very appreciative of the effort he's putting forth. He's played in our league at a high level, and it'd be a nice redemption story if it does come back around."
"Opportunity" not "crisis"
While many outsiders view the situation as dire, Lynch refuses to call the receiver injuries a "crisis." Instead, he takes a more optimistic view of the situation, calling it an "opportunity."
"Is it what we'd want? No," Lynch said. "We'd like all these guys back there. But like I said, we're going to put a good group out there to start the year, and then we'll start getting guys back, and it will just be kind of a little blessing each week.
"Now, we've got to keep the guys who we have healthy. We've got to find a way to get from here to there. But that's what our calling is. That's what our job is. So, we'll do it, and we'll figure out a way, and we're going to be all right."
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