49ERS START PRESEASON WITH WIN
SANTA CLARA — Early injuries to five key players made for a miserable opening act of the San Francisco 49ers exhibition season Thursday night.
The casualties: defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, tight end George Kittle, linebacker Malcolm Smith, running back Matt Breida and No. 3 offensive tackle Garry Gilliam.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo safely got pulled one series into the carnage, after he completed 3-of-6 pass for 34 yards on a drive that stalled near midfield against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.
Helping salvage the night was how the game ended, with Richie James catching a go-ahead touchdown pass from Nick Mullens for a 2421, comeback win.
But that opening wave of injuries, all within the first 16 minutes, cast a quick pall on opening night and could have ramifications that car- ry into the Sept. 9 regularseason opener at Minnesota.
The severity of injuries was not immediately known, although Smith was the only one immediately ruled out from returning, having exited with a hamstring issue. Listed as questionable to return were Thomas (head), Kittle (shoulder), Breida (shoulder) and Gilliam (head). Here’s how those injuries occurred:
— Thomas, last year’s No. 3 overall draft pick, was down the longest, having apparently taken a hit to the head while trying to break through a double-team block on the defense’s second series.
— Smith came out six snaps into his debut in a
49ers uniform, having missed all of last year’s action with a pectoral tear early in training camp.
— Kittle, the starting tight end, landed on his right shoulder when his legs were taken out beneath him by safety Jeff Heath. Kittle was the target of a third-down, Garoppolo pass that sailed far beyond Kittle’s one-handed reach.
— Breida had succeeded Jerick McKinnon for the second offensive series and he sustained a shoulder injury in pass protection. Breida remained on the sideline and watched the game’s remainder.
— Gilliam, two plays into the second quarter, headed for the locker room with a head injury. He had replaced Joe Staley at left tackle after the first series and is considered their top option as a swing tackle to back up Staley and right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
The 49ers entered training camp under the perception of improved depth, and that is quickly being tested.
Aside from Thursday’s injuries, they had seven other potential starters not suit up: cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring), wide receiver Trent Taylor (back), defensive end Arik Armstead (hamstring), guards Joshua Garnett (knee) and Jonathan Cooper (knee), linebacker Brock Coyle (hip) and nickel back K’Waun Williams (ankle).
Three impressions
1. Offense off-kilter: All would look awful if not for Garoppolo’s third-down conversions to Richie James (9 yards, 3rd-and-8) and Marquise Goodwin (18 yards; third-and-10). Jerick McKinnon had no shot at making a great first impression, constantly getting hit in the backfield and producing runs of 2, 0 and minus-6 yards. The revamped offensive line has room to improve, but at least it kept Garoppolo upright. Their star quarterback did endure a hit when DeMarcus Lawrence shed Mike McGlinchey’s block and cut inside on the third-down completion to Goodwin.
2. Trouble at corner: Jimmie Ward’s return to cornerback wasn’t an immediate success, not after he gave up a first-series, 30-yard touchdown catch to rookie Michael Gallup (third-round pick). Ward later surrendered a third-and-4, conversion catch to Allen Hurns. The 49ers’ plan is to have Richard Sherman, not Ward, start at left cornerback, so these exhibition snaps should serve Ward well in his transition from free safety. Sherman, along with secondary coach Jeff Hafley, talked to Ward on the bench immediately after the touchdown catch.
3. Linebacker shuffle: As has become routine the past few years without Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, the 49ers linebacker corps is a fluid situation, especially in terms of who will pair with Reuben Foster. Smith’s exit Thursday wasn’t a shock considering medical record, from last year’s pectoral tear in camp to his heel injury prior to this camp. Smith’s po- tential replacements did not suit up Thursday night: Coyle (hip) and rookie Fred Warner (chest). Korey Toomer and Elija Lee failed to make stops on a secondquarter touchdown drive. As for Foster, he made two tackles and a tremendous pass defense, but he also over-pursued to open a lane for an early run.
Notes
— Every 49ers and Cowboys player stood for the national anthem, including Eli Harold, who knelt most often with Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid over the past two seasons. Marquise Goodwin raised a fist.
— Rookie linebacker Fred Warner, limited in practice this week because of a chest injury, did not make his debut Thursday night. Also out with health concerns: tight end Cole Wick (knee) and safety Marcell Harris (Achilles).
— Wide receiver Aaron Burbridge, running back Matt Breida and defensive end Cassius Marsh served as captains.