With the San Francisco 49ers offense scheduled to return to full strength, the defense is now taking some hits.
The 49ers secured a victory against the Arizona Cardinals but it wasn’t without the Thursday Night Football injury bug. Kyle Shanahan said George Kittle was bothered by an ankle and knee injury, but the more devastating injury is linebacker Kwon Alexander. Alexander got nailed with a chest injury and was pulled immediately.
Shanahan said an MRI is scheduled for tomorrow, but it’s concerning how quickly Alexander was pulled following the injury. The 49ers wasted no time when it happened and listed him as OUT with no questions asked.
This is very scary, because when he left, the defense was made vulnerable. Without him, the Arizona Cardinals managed an 88-yard touchdown pass that gave us a ball game. Luckily, the offense returned some favors and put the game on ice.
The 49ers have 11 days to get healthy and prepare for the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. They are getting offensive players back, but their defense is now the one taking the hit. If Alexander isn’t ready to go, it’s time for rookies Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair to hold down the fort. Hopefully this isn’t anything season ending.
Alexander had proven a lot of doubters wrong when returning from a knee injury and signing with the 49ers. Hold your breath people, he has been terrific and it will be a huge blow if he is unable to finish the season.