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Kyle Shanahan Gives Injury Update on Key 49ers Wide Receiver
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- Kyle Shanahan Gives Injury Update on Key 49ers Wide Receiver
Right now, the San Francisco 49ers have only four healthy wide receivers available to play: Mike Evans (who has missed practice the last two days with rib and Achilles issues), Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and Brandin Cooks.
Deebo Samuel Sr. is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring ailment he suffered last Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks. There is hope that Christian Kirk will return not too long from now, but his return doesn't seem imminent, even though he returned to practice this week after sustaining a calf injury in late July.
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Then there is wideout Demarcus Robinson, who has been out since coming down with a high ankle sprain in Week 2 versus the Miami Dolphins. He was placed on injured reserve, and the earliest he will be eligible to return is Week 7 versus the Atlanta Falcons.
Update on Robinson
Per Nick Wagoner of ESPN , Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said that Robinson has an "outside chance" of returning when the team faces Atlanta on Oct. 25, but that a later return is more likely.
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The team will first play the Washington Commanders this Monday before visiting Atlanta. It will then have Week 8 off before hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 8.
In two games this year, Robinson caught five passes and logged 84 receiving yards and one touchdown. This is his second year with San Francisco; last year he had 22 receptions, 276 yards and one touchdown.
The season before that, as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Robinson registered 505 yards and seven touchdowns, both of which were career highs. He won a Super Bowl championship in the 2019 campaign with the Kansas City Chiefs — ironically, that title was won against the Niners.
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Somehow, despite all their injuries, the Niners are 5-0 and have the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL. Quarterback Brock Purdy has elevated his game to an even higher level with 1,196 passing yards, 13 touchdown passes and just two interceptions through five games, and he has established himself as a prime MVP candidate.
What he has done with essentially a makeshift crew at wide receiver is starting to eliminate the false narrative that he's a barely above-average signal-caller who has only put up good numbers because of the talent around him and Shanahan's brilliant offensive mind.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
