The San Francisco 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a potentially devastating knee injury in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that was also just one of several notable injuries on both sides of the roster. It reflects extensive in the latest snap count, which is posted below. You can also view the gamebook PDF.
The big change obviously was Garoppolo. He went down with a knee injury on what would prove to be the penultimate offensive snap of the game. C.J. Beathard came on for a snap and appeared to throw a touchdown pass to George Kittle. An offensive pass interference call negated it, and while Beathard did not get a pass attempt out of it, he did get the snap.
A second problem was in the secondary. Adrian Colbert injured his hip and Richard Sherman injured his calf, and neither returned. Colbert was replaced by D.J. Reed, while Richard Sherman was replaced by Ahkello Witherspoon — Jimmie Ward had started in place of Witherspoon. Of course, Ward then suffered an injury of his own (cramping) and was replaced by Tarvarius Moore. At one point, the 49ers starting secondary was Moore, Witherspoon, Reed, and Antone Exum (starting in place of an inactive Jaquiski Tartt).
Sherman is getting an MRI on his calf, and that can be a tricky injury. He had some issues with his heel earlier in the week, and it would not be surprising if this calf injury is related. We’ll find out more with the MRI, but there is a good chance the 49ers will be going further down the depth chart at cornerback.
There is some notable non-injury news. Linebacker Malcolm Smith, signed a year and a half ago, finally made his debut for the 49ers. The team went with a new look, playing Smith at SAM over Mark Nzeocha. Smith handled the SAM role exclusively, while Nzeocha was relegated to strictly special teams work. Reuben Foster left the game for one snap when he got the wind knocked out of him, but otherwise, he and Fred Warner were the exclusive starting LB tandem in sub packages.
49ers snap count vs. Chiefs, Week 3
| Player | Offense | Defense | ST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Offense | Defense | ST |
| Joe Staley | 68 | 4 | |
| Mike McGlinchey | 68 | 4 | |
| Laken Tomlinson | 68 | 4 | |
| Weston Richburg | 68 | 4 | |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 67 | ||
| Mike Person | 61 | ||
| George Kittle | 54 | ||
| Kyle Juszczyk | 53 | 4 | |
| Pierre Garçon | 52 | ||
| Marquise Goodwin | 42 | ||
| Matt Breida | 29 | 3 | |
| Trent Taylor | 25 | 4 | |
| Dante Pettis | 25 | 2 | |
| Alfred Morris | 23 | ||
| Garrett Celek | 19 | 15 | |
| Kendrick Bourne | 15 | 6 | |
| Erik Magnuson | 7 | ||
| Raheem Mostert | 3 | 17 | |
| C.J. Beathard | 1 | ||
| Antone Exum | 76 | 18 | |
| Fred Warner | 76 | 14 | |
| Reuben Foster | 75 | ||
| Jimmie Ward | 71 | 9 | |
| DeForest Buckner | 55 | 10 | |
| K'Waun Williams | 54 | ||
| D.J. Reed | 52 | 18 | |
| Arik Armstead | 49 | 1 | |
| Solomon Thomas | 44 | 5 | |
| Ahkello Witherspoon | 40 | 12 | |
| Cassius Marsh | 40 | 11 | |
| Richard Sherman | 36 | ||
| Malcolm Smith | 34 | ||
| Earl Mitchell | 33 | 6 | |
| Ronald Blair | 29 | ||
| Adrian Colbert | 25 | 4 | |
| D.J. Jones | 22 | 4 | |
| Sheldon Day | 20 | ||
| Tarvarius Moore | 5 | 23 | |
| Elijah Lee | 1 | 24 | |
| Mark Nzeocha | 24 | ||
| Tyvis Powell | 14 | ||
| Cole Wick | 14 | ||
| Bradley Pinion | 13 | ||
| Kyle Nelson | 8 | ||
| Garry Gilliam | 4 | ||
| Robbie Gould | 4 |