{"id":8744,"date":"2026-09-09T06:08:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T06:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744"},"modified":"2026-09-09T06:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T06:08:32","slug":"49ers-defensive-line-loses-another-dt-alfred-collins-sustains-knee-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

MELBOURNE, Australia \u2014 Defensive tackle Alfred Collins sustained a season-ending knee injury in the 49ers\u2019 practice Tuesday, further decimating an already suspect defensive line just ahead of Friday\u2019s season opener here against the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n

Read more Solo homers by Eldridge, Koss lead SF Giants to win over Cardinals<\/a><\/p>\n

Collins tore his patellar tendon during defensive warmups, coach Kyle Shanahan revealed before Wednesday\u2019s practice at AAMI Park. The 2025 second-round pick heroically forced and recovered a goal-line fumble in last season\u2019s overtime road win over the Rams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a big loss,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cWe lost two D-linemen pretty much for the year, after (53-man roster) cuts and before the first game, which is a huge challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other casualty was defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, who fractured a foot in last Wednesday\u2019s final practice before flying to Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s terrible, really unfortunate for him and Sam. Camp ends and those guys get those unlucky breaks and that stinks,\u201d said Nick Bosa, who delcared himself 100% healthy and ready to launch his ACL comeback in Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI texted (Collins) last night and let know there\u2019s nothing anybody can say to you at that moment or really the entire process,\u201d Bosa added. \u201cGuys can tell you to keep your head up but they won\u2019t be there for the surgery or the nine months you\u2019re grinding by yourself to get back. He has to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I\u2019ve told him I\u2019ve been there a few times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams will be without a defensive tackle of much higher caliber than Collins. They flew out Tuesday night without the recently unretired Aaron Donald.<\/p>\n

As for the 49ers\u2019 probable defensive front, second-year defensive tackle C.J. West likely will replace Collins and start next to Osa Odighizuwa at defensive tackle. Expected to start at defensive end are Bosa and likely Keion White, backed up by Romello Height and recent acquisition Khalid Kareem.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Ogba Okoronkwo is a candidate to come up from the practice squad, but the 49ers likely must use one of two such promotions on a defensive tackle.<\/p>\n

Read more Suspect charged in fatal East Palo Alto assault<\/a><\/p>\n

Gracen Halton, who missed much of the past month with an ankle injury, is expected to rotate in, along with whoever is promoted from the practice squad between Sebastian Valdez and Kevin Givens. Valdez did not appear in a game last season as an undrafted rookie who mostly stayed on the practice squad; Givens has 14 starts in 70 games since 2019 with the 49ers.<\/p>\n

James Thompson Jr., an undrafted rookie who made last week\u2019s initial 53-man roster, was participating Wednesday after missing the previous two practices because of a hamstring strain. His availability and that of other 49ers will be officially announced a day before the opener.<\/p>\n

Being so far from the U.S. hinders the 49ers\u2019 options for adding last-minute replacements.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAny D-lineman is a possibility, unless you can name some guys we can fly here real quick,\u201d said Shanahan, who then appeased local reporters and half-jokingly said there were some Australian Football League players around here who might be worth a look.<\/p>\n

Bosa practiced Tuesday for only the second time in the past month because of tendinitis in his surgically repaired right knee. He and tight end George Kittle (Achilles) are expected to play, albeit on a snap count. \u201cBoth look great but we have to be smart with that,\u201d Shanahan said.<\/p>\n

Both Kittle and Bosa were practicing Wednesday, as were all other projected starters.<\/p>\n

Shanahan smiled at Wednesday\u2019s other major news: that the Rams delayed launching Donald\u2019s comeback. \u201cI was preparing for the worst and glad we don\u2019t have to see him this week,\u201d Shanahan said.<\/p>\n

Read more Prescribed burn at Angel Island sends plume of smoke into Bay Area skies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defensive tackle Alfred Collins sustained a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday’s practice, leaving the 49ers’ defensive line further decimated and in a lurch for replacments so far from the mainland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Defensive tackle Alfred Collins sustained a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday's practice, leaving the 49ers' defensive line further decimated and in a lurch for replacments so far from the mainland.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744\",\"name\":\"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8744#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest","og_description":"Defensive tackle Alfred Collins sustained a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday's practice, leaving the 49ers' defensive line further decimated and in a lurch for replacments so far from the mainland.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury","datePublished":"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744"},"wordCount":659,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744","name":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-09T06:08:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e697f8f1d6f5248565786c6b162cc61e-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1920},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8744#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"49ers’ defensive line loses another: DT Alfred Collins sustains knee injury"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}