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Kyle Shanahan Gives Encouraging Info on Two Injured 49ers Defenders for Week 4
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- Kyle Shanahan Gives Encouraging Info on Two Injured 49ers Defenders for Week 4
Another week, another set of new injuries for the San Francisco 49ers. This pattern has become more repetitive than a noisy, annoying parrot, and fans are beyond sick of it.
Wide receiver Mike Evans, off-ball linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Jaden Dugger and defensive end Keion White are listed as questionable for this Sunday's game versus the Denver Broncos after being limited participants in Friday's practice . Evans has a rib injury, Greenlaw has a quad injury, White has a bad hamstring and Dugger has a hurt shoulder.
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All four men have joined a long list of injured 49ers players that includes several wide receivers and defensive linemen. While the team is 3-0, its chances of remaining undefeated could greatly diminish if any of those four men don't play this Sunday.
But according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, two of them could still play despite not practicing much on Friday.
Shanahan hinted at the chances of Greenlaw and White playing
Shanahan implied that both Greenlaw and White could have more than a 50/50 chance of taking the field at Levi's Stadium versus the Broncos this weekend.
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He mentioned how Greenlaw missed a long stretch of action during the 2021 season due to a groin injury that required surgery, but returned for the regular-season finale versus the Los Angeles Rams.
"I'll go back to Dre—he didn't play 16 weeks in a row and barely practiced in Week 17 when we needed to beat the Rams to get into the playoffs," Shanahan said, via 49ers Webzone .
Greenlaw didn't quite miss 16 weeks in a row that year — he went on the shelf after Week 1 and returned for Week 12 before sitting out again. But the fact that he played and played well in Week 17 that year despite not practicing seems to bode well for him this week.
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In that Week 17 game versus L.A., he had 12 total tackles (five solo) as the Niners notched a clutch 27-24 win in overtime after trailing 17-0 in the second quarter.
As for White, who leads San Francisco with two sacks so far this season, Shanahan sounded hopeful that he will be able to play.
"Keion's been here for now—he was half of last year and these three games, and we've been pumped with how Keion's been playing," Shanahan said. "Hopefully, he'll be good by Sunday, but definitely don't want to risk it these two days and him getting a setback and making it worse."
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If he cannot play, however, the Niners will be extremely thin up front on defense. They're already without defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, Sam Okuayinonu, CJ West and James Thompson Jr.
Rookie defensive end Romello Height, who has a broken hand, is expected to play this Sunday.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Oct 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
