A month out, and possibly longer
De’Zhaun Stribling will miss at least a month with a left ankle injury, NFL Network reported earlier today. The San Francisco rookie sprained his deltoid ligament in the second quarter of Thursday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia and did not return to the field.
Nobody hit him. The injury came on a non-contact play, the kind that leaves a sideline guessing until the imaging arrives.
Surgery remains on the table. As of Sunday morning the 49ers had not decided, and choosing to operate would push the timeline well past the reported month.
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Shanahan feared worse on Thursday night
Kyle Shanahan spoke after the 27-7 win and confirmed the Achilles was intact, then said further tests would settle the rest. Three days later the diagnosis landed on the deltoid ligament, the band on the inside of the ankle that holds the joint together under load. Recovery windows for that injury swing hard depending on the grade of the sprain.
San Francisco won the game comfortably. Losing a second-round rookie receiver in the process still reshapes how the opening month of the season looks for the passing game.
A high pick who had earned the reps
The 49ers took Stribling with the first selection of the second round, No. 33 overall, in the 2026 draft. The 23-year-old arrived from Ole Miss and climbed the depth chart through training camp rather than on draft slot alone, which is why the absence registers rather than passing unnoticed.
The Hawaii native will now spend the stretch he expected to use learning the offence at NFL speed working his way back into it instead.
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