The San Francisco 49ers have already taken another hit before the season has even kicked off.
Defensive tackle Alfred Collins is done for the year after Kyle Shanahan said he suffered a torn patellar tendon Monday. Collins surfaced on the injury report this week, and the news leaves him out for the entire season.
It’s another ugly blow for a team already dealing with injury trouble. Ricky Pearsall’s season ended in August after the team decided he needed surgery for his PCL, and Mykel Williams is on the PUP list. Collins is now the latest player on a rookie contract to lose significant time to a season-ending injury.
For Collins, the timing makes it even worse. He had flashes in 2025, but he was still trying to build the consistency that usually comes with a second season in the league.
There’s at least a rough benchmark for the recovery. The most recent example of an NFL player weighing over 300 pounds to miss time with a torn patellar tendon was Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, who missed the entire 2025 regular season after hurting his knee in August 2025. His recovery took 10 to 12 months, and he was back at practice for the Chargers OTAs in June.
If everything goes right, Collins could be ready for training camp in 2026. But that kind of recovery does not come easy. A recent 2025 study found that 85.7% of athletes return but do not start as many games as they did before the injury, while another 76.8% fail to get back to their previous performance level.
San Francisco’s depth chart now has to absorb the loss. Osa Odighizuwa is there, but the spot next to him is less settled.
CJ West, Gracen Halton, and James Thompson Jr. are on the depth chart, though Thompson hasn’t been practicing. Shanahan said Thompson Jr.’s availability will depend on how Wednesday’s practice goes for the undrafted free agent.
A practice squad move appears likely with both injuries, and the names in the mix include Sebastian Valdez and Kevin Givens.
The 49ers are in Melbourne, Australia, getting ready for the Los Angeles Rams, and Collins’ absence lands especially hard this close to kickoff. He had a memorable moment in last year’s road game against the Rams, helping stop them from scoring on San Francisco’s own goal line in a win few expected. A repeat of that scene won’t be part of this trip.
In Other News...
DK Metcalf Just Reopened A Seahawks Debate Fans Never Dropped
DK Metcalfs exit from Seattle was never just a roster move, and the way things have played out has only made the old debate louder. He asked the Seahawks for a trade before the 2025 season, landed with the Steelers, and Seattle responded by turning the page with draft-pick compensation and a major contract for Jaxon Smith-Njigba. From the outside, it was the kind of decision that invites instant comparison, especially after the Seahawks went on to win Super Bowl LX while Pittsburghs run ended in the wild-card round.
Metcalf, though, is not treating the result like a reason to revisit his choice. He has said he understands the consequences of asking out and has congratulated his former teammates, even as the Steelers committed to him with a four-year, $132 million extension. For Seattle fans, it keeps the conversation in a familiar place: whether the franchise got the timing right, whether Metcalf got what he wanted, and how much a championship ring changes the hindsight around a trade that was already going to be dissected for years. [Read more 🡒]
Cooper Kupps New Seahawks Partnership Goes Well Beyond Sneakers
Brooks Running has officially stepped into the Seahawks orbit as the teams new Running Partner, and the rollout comes with Cooper Kupp serving as one of three new global ambassadors. The arrangement fits Seattles sports culture neatly enough, but it is aimed at more than branding and sideline visibility. Brooks is tying the partnership to community work across Washington state, with a focus on supporting high school football coaches and athletes through programs such as Coach of the Week and Future Run grants.
The broader push also reaches into girls flag football, where Brooks plans to recognize coaches and players as the sport keeps growing in the region. The company expects to spotlight those efforts at a Seahawks home game, turning what could have been a straightforward endorsement deal into a much wider effort around local football. For Kupp and the Seahawks, it is a partnership built as much on community footing as on what happens on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Could Get A Big Backfield Boost Sooner Than Expected
Zach Charbonnets start to the season remains on hold, but theres at least a little more optimism around his recovery than there was when the Seahawks first braced for a long absence. The running back is on the physically unable to perform list after the knee injury he carried out of last season, which means he will miss the first four games, but coach Mike Macdonald said Charbonnet is progressing well and could be back sooner than the December timeframe that had seemed to be the target.
For Seattle, the possibility matters because Charbonnets return would give the backfield a jolt at a point in the season when teams usually start absorbing wear and tear. Still, nothing is locked in yet. He has to pass a physical before the Seahawks can activate him, and with no firm return date in place, the team is left waiting to see whether the encouraging signs turn into an actual midseason comeback. [Read more 🡒]