This is so sad.
No, I'm not talking about not being able to attend another BTS concert for the rest of the year.
I'm talking seriously about my all-time favorite group, the 49ers , and my bias, Kapolei rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, who suffered a rare and disheartening injury that derailed his promising rookie season.
There was such high anticipation from the Faithful of seeing who some believe was the next great San Francisco receiver finally getting his time to shine in a real NFL game after two standout preseason games.
Stribling had withstood months of criticism and scrutiny because of his draft position — everyone called his pick at No. 33 overall a "reach" — only to slowly and eventually change opinions by his skill and athletic ability. He even passed the toughest test of all, getting taskmaster coach Kyle Shanahan to believe in him enough to start him as a rookie.
But just 21 plays in and with no targets against the Rams in the opener in Australia, Stribling went down. The 6-foot-2, 207-pounder actually was injured before play 21.
Guy Haberman, 49ers play-by-player announcer and podcaster, showed a video of when Stribling was initially injured. Stribling ran a go route and was looking back at the play that was ending when he was knocked down from behind. He stayed in the game and tried to block on a run the next play but hopped off the field. He returned only to go down without contact and eventually leave on a cart.
Stribling suffered what NFL Network's Ian Rapoport called a deltoid ligament injury.
Niners podcasters had to look up the injury, with one podcaster admitting he never heard of that ligament but noted after research that such an injury is usually accompanied with a fracture.
Now, Stribling will be out 10 weeks after undergoing surgery.
So what was going to be Stribling's coming-out party is now on indefinite hold.
All I know is by the time 10 weeks rolls around, Stribling will have lost all the traction he gained leading up to the opener. He will have fallen behind, lost his opportunity to gain experience and probably will see his starting job assumed by Christian Kirk , a veteran free agent signee who should be back off injured reserve in three weeks.
It's unfortunate and unfair.
When the Hawaii-born product first got drafted, the hate was heavy. He became the easy target to be called the latest of GM John Lynch's failed early-round draft picks. Bay Area radio shows and podcasters piled it on.
But his play during rookie camp, OTAs and training camp changed the narrative.
San Francisco quarterback Mac Jones called him "The Flyin' Hawaiian … because he's so fast."
Stribling was the team's leading receiver in both preseason games he played, catching passes from three quarterbacks.
Against the Titans he had seven catches for 63 yards. Against the Chargers, he had four catches for 46 yards in the first quarter, though he dropped a potential 33-yard TD pass.
Stribling, as he did at Ole Miss last season, also has come up clutch on third down.
Against the Titans, two of his third-down receptions resulted in first downs, including a 32-yard catch on third-and-5. Against the Chargers, Stribling turned three third-down receptions into first downs.
Stribling's timing also was spot on for those sitting in the broadcast booth.
During the Titans exhibition game, All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams was in the TV booth, raving about the rookie.
"Yeah, I love Strib, man. Strib is, you know — what a heck of a pick. I don't know how he missed the first round," Williams said. "But to get a guy that big that can run that fast, and as tough as he is, as willing as he is as a blocker, as smart as he is, I don't understand how he missed out on — look at that."
"That" was Stribling's 32-yard reception in which he turned his body to snatch the ball with his hands while being closely covered.
"There you go," Williams said, right in the middle of the interview. "Strib is amazing man. … Hopefully, he can be another San Francisco great."
One of the best endorsements came from veteran wide receiver Mike Evans , who joined the 49ers as a free agent this offseason and was asked about Stribling by the Australian press.
"You all saw a snippet of it in the preseason, but he's an ultimate playmaker," Evans said. "He's physical, he's tough, great hands, really smart, and he's low maintenance."
"He's going to be a great player, and he's going to help us out a lot this year," Evans said.
Niners and Hawaii fans can only hope that will eventually be true.
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Reach Curtis Murayama at cmurayama@staradvertiser.com .
