One of the 49ers’ Rookie Studs Has an Injury

For some reason, the San Francisco 49ers simply cannot avoid the dreaded injury bug. It decimated them during the previous two seasons, and this season is starting to look like another one that, at least to an extent, could be defined by injuries.

They came into Week 1 with defensive ends Mykel Williams and Sam Okuayinonu, defensive tackle Alfred Collins and wide receivers Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall injured. During their 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday, rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling suffered an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out for about 10 weeks, and they also lost backup tight end Jake Tonges for the season.

On Thursday, a new injury came up for yet another one of San Francisco’s promising young players.

Kaelon Black is now banged up

Rookie running back Kaelon Black, who made an excellent NFL debut last week, was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice session due to a groin injury, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.

Groin injuries can be tricky to deal with and can take quite a while to heal, which makes this development seem more concerning.

Black led the Niners in carries with 14 last week and ended up with 65 rushing yards on an average of 4.6 yards per carry. He played so well that he allowed head coach Kyle Shanahan and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak to preserve RB1 Christian McCaffrey and hold him to 10 carries.

However, perhaps his injury isn’t something to be overly concerned about, at least based on a comment Shanahan made on KNBR radio.

“We’re just being smart with him,” Shanahan said, via David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. “He’s a little tight today, so we didn’t push him too hard.”

If Black is unable to play this Sunday versus the Miami Dolphins, Jordan James, a second-year man out of the University of Oregon, would become the backup behind McCaffrey. James did not have a single carry in Week 1.

Defensive end Nick Bosa (knee), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger), TE! George Kittle (Achilles) and defensive lineman Keion White (back) were also limited in practice on Thursday. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro did not participate due to an illness.