A season gone in one practice rep
Kyle Shanahan confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins tore a patellar tendon during a 49ers practice in Melbourne, Australia, and will miss the entire 2026 season. He had been penciled in as a starter.
Collins is the second lineman San Francisco has lost from that group before Week 1. Sam Okuayinonu hurt his foot shortly before the team flew to Australia and faces surgery that will cost him most or all of the year. Two starters-in-waiting, gone inside a fortnight, with the roster already trimmed to 53.
“That was a big loss,” Shanahan told reporters. “We’ve lost two D-linemen pretty much for the year after cuts and before the first game, which has been a huge challenge. I’m hurting for Alfred. It was real unfortunate for him.”
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Thin options, and no time
The 49ers open against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. That leaves Shanahan filling Collins’ roster spot from a practice squad carrying two defensive tackles, Kevin Givens and Sebastian Valdez. Neither profiles as a plug-and-play starter.
Shanahan was blunt about how narrow the search has become. “Any D-lineman is a possibility unless you guys can name some guys we can fly here real quick,” he said.
One piece of the front does return. Nick Bosa is back after tearing his right ACL in Week 3 last season, and the former Defensive Player of the Year immediately becomes the reason opposing coordinators still have to plan around this line.
What San Francisco loses
Collins turned 24 this year and arrived as a second-round pick out of Texas in 2025. He played 16 games as a rookie, started once, and logged 17 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed. Those forced-fumble numbers stand out for a rotational interior lineman getting limited snaps, and they explain why the coaching staff had moved him into the first unit for year two.
Now the 49ers head into an opener 10,000 miles from home with a defensive front they did not plan for.
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