The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with a lot of injuries over the first half of their preseason opener versus the Dallas Cowboys.
Well, Week 1 of the preseason hasn't been too kind to the San Francisco 49ers on the injury front, as they hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
Linebacker Malcolm Smith suffered a leg injury in what was his first actual game in a Niners uniform (Smith missed all of the 2017 campaign with a pectoral injury). It got worse too, as tight end George Kittle suffered an apparent arm injury on a deep passing attempt, while defensive end Solomon Thomas exited with a head injury. Thomas, who registered three tackles and half a sack beforehand, had been flashing a lot of promise in limited action before exiting.
The Niners also lost swing tackle Garry Gilliam and running back Matt Breida to injuries as well.
It's not even the end of the first half, so don't be surprised if head coach Kyle Shanahan looks to sub in the vast majority of his backups before too long.
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Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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@PeterPanacy
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Peter Panacy
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
All articles by Peter Panacy
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