Team news: San Francisco 49ers

Stribling underwent ankle surgery Wednesday and is expected to miss approximately 10 weeks, according to Kyle Shanahan.

The 49ers had already placed Stribling on injured reserve, but the initial designation only established a four-game absence. Wednesday’s timeline suggests he will remain unavailable until late November.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, KhaDarel Hodge, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, George Kittle

Stribling can be dropped outside of dynasty formats. Evans, Samuel and Robinson should continue handling the overwhelming majority of San Francisco’s wide-receiver routes, while Hodge, Cowing and Watkins provide the next layer of depth.

49ers rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling is being placed on injured reserve due to his ankle injury, sidelining him at least four games, per sources.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, KhaDarel Hodge, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, George Kittle

Stribling’s absence further consolidates San Francisco’s passing game around its veteran playmakers. Evans and Samuel should remain the primary receivers, while Robinson has a clearer path to regular three-receiver sets. Hodge, Cowing, and Watkins provide depth but are not yet redraft considerations.

Neither tight end George Kittle nor defensive end Nick Bosa received injury designations on the team’s final injury report ahead of their game against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia. Kittle is returning from a torn Achilles, while Bosa has been working his way back from a torn ACL.

Related Players: Jake Tonges, Mike Evans, De'Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel

Kittle is expected to play, but the possibility of a reduced workload threatens his customary TE1 valuation. Managers with comparable alternatives can reasonably wait a week, while Jake Tonges loses nearly all standalone appeal with Kittle active.

Tight end George Kittle traveled with the 49ers to Australia, which was a sign he would play in Thursday night’s season opener. It sounds like Kittle will play, but how much remains to be seen.

“It’s been pretty cool to see Kittle out there looking like himself, looking fresh,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “How that affects him on game day and what the workload is, that will be determined. But he looks good to me.

Kittle sounds like he'll come with risks for fantasy owners in Week 1. Game flow could also be a factor in how much he plays. The good news is the story said Kittle is practicing at full speed and getting a ton of reps. Kubiak added, "I feel like we’re in good shape." Kittle tore his right Achilles in a Jan. 11 playoff game against the Eagles. He underwent surgery three days later.

49ers wide receiver Mike Evans did not practice much at training camp this summer due to injuries, but he’s not concerned about his health heading into Thursday’s opener against the Rams.

“The training staff, they did a great job working with me,” Evans said. “I know I’m an older player. I’ve had probably over a thousand practices, football practices in my life now, so I know what I’m doing out there. They know what they’re doing. They did a good job taking care of me. None of my injuries were significant. If it was a game week, I wouldn’t have missed any time.”

Evans missed time with groin and quad issues and he has a history of hamstring injuries that have cost him time, the story said. The story added he told reporters at a press conference in Australia that this summer’s time off was more about precaution than any limitations he was feeling. Evans is poised for a big role in the Niners offense this season - as long as he stays healthy. Ironically, injuries to Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall have made Evans even more important to the offense.

Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey were not taking part in drills in the early portion of 49ers practice that was open to the media. George Kittle is practicing.

Related players: Kaelon Black, Jordan James

The Niners, of course, are in Australia preparing for this week's game against the Rams Thursday night. McCaffrey was dealing with tightness and missed time all through camp but later came out and said it was all planned. So, this could be part of the plan as well. Hopefully there is no need to panic as we're less than four days away from this game. There should be plenty of eyes on CMC leading up to Thursday night, but owners should always be sure to have a backup plan.

Barrows believes San Francisco’s plan is for Stribling to serve as its primary slot receiver while also backing up Mike Evans at the X position.

Christian Kirk will begin the season on injured reserve with a calf injury, while Ricky Pearsall has already been ruled out for the year. Stribling is expected to be available for Week 1 after missing the preseason finale with a minor shoulder injury.

Related Players: Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, George Kittle

A primary slot role would provide Stribling with a cleaner path to immediate targets than San Francisco’s crowded receiver depth chart initially suggested. Samuel’s presence still creates uncertainty regarding personnel packages and manufactured touches, but Stribling appears positioned to play meaningful snaps immediately.

The 49ers have as many players back at practice today as they’ve had in a long, long time. Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, and Mike Evans were all on the field.

Related Players: Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell

Practicing before the overseas flight is another strong step toward Week 1 availability. Kittle may still have his early-season workload managed after such a significant injury, but this reduces the likelihood that Tonges will open the year as San Francisco’s primary receiving tight end. Kittle remains appropriately valued as a lower-end TE1 with elevated durability risk.

John Lynch says that the 49ers hope to have Mike Evans, who has an adductor injury, back at practice next week.

Related players: George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, De'Zhaun Stribling, Demarcus Robinson, Christian McCaffrey

Use of the word "hope" doesn't make us feel warm and fuzzy about Evans' status heading into Week 1, at least at this point. He'll lose a couple of days to get ready as the 49ers play the Rams in Week 1 next Thursday night. The now seemingly oft-injured Evans will probably need to start logging some practice time soon, if he wants to be ready for the Sept. 10 game in Melbourne. With Kittle also a question mark, the Niners could be looking for Deebo, the rookie Stribling and of course CMC in the passing game.

49ers tight end George Kittle is practicing this week and he’s moving into team drills in the days leading up to their trip to Australia, so any worries that his return from a torn Achilles hit a snag should be put to rest.

“I don’t know exactly what I said there, but it was probably just me not speaking right,” Shanahan said. “George has been great. He’s passing everything. We’re just getting him out with the team these three days and anytime when you come back out and practice with the team going against people and stuff — I hope there’s not a setback in that way. That has nothing to do with his injury or anything, that has to do with his coming back and practicing these three days. There was nothing that I meant to say that people looked into. If I did say that, it was an accident.”

Shanahan apparently misspoke about Kittle and a possible setback with the injury. As the story said, Kittle’s status for Week 1 against the Rams remains up in the air, but his overall timeline hasn't changed. The 49ers-Rams will play on Thursday night, Sept. 10.