San Francisco 49ers defensive end Tank Carradine has a high ankle sprain after Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday that the team will have to make a decision about whether or not to place him on injured reserve.
That indicates it’s a severe ankle sprain, to be sure. Surgery likely isn’t needed, at the very least, and Shanahan said that the team will likely make a decision on Monday. At the time of Friday’s conference, they had not received the results of his MRI.
He also said that he would be “shocked” if rookie linebacker Reuben Foster were able to come back by Week 4. Safety Eric Reid can also be added to that list, as Shanahan said Reid is “behind Reuben.”
The Carradine news is disappointing because he’s been playing well this season. Carradine was sort of in flux for awhile with the 49ers, but finally found his home at defensive end in Robert Saleh’s 4-3 defense. He was looking good against the Rams before he left with an injury.
In addition to all of those players, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, safety Jaquiski Tartt and linebacker Brock Coyle are all in the league’s concussion protocol and will be going through that on Monday.