Thrown for a loss: Smith out for year
Less than a week before their preseason opener, the 49ers have already suffered their first significant loss.
On Saturday, starting inside linebacker Malcolm Smith suffered a torn pectoral muscle in practice and was lost for the season, the team confirmed. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after practice that Smith likely sustained a long-term injury, and that was confirmed after Smith underwent an MRI exam.
Smith’s injury could open the door for first-round pick Reuben Foster to open the season as the starter alongside NaVorro Bowman. Foster, the 31st overall pick, was rated by the 49ers as the third-best prospect in the draft. On Saturday, Ray-Ray Armstrong assumed Smith’s spot after he was injured.
Smith, 28, a former Super Bowl MVP with Seattle, was the 49ers’ biggest free-agent signing on defense. He inked a five-year contract with $11.5 million guaranteed in March, and part of the 49ers’ attraction to him was Smith’s familiarity with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s 4-3 scheme. Smith spent his first three seasons in the NFL with Saleh, who was a low-level defensive assistant with the Seahawks from 2011-13.
“That would be a big one for us,” Bowman said of Smith’s injury shortly after practice. “We’ve really been (communicating) about offenses, and what they try to do to us. That would be a loss. Let’s hope not.”
Smith wasn’t the only starter who was sidelined Saturday. Left guard Joshua Garnett, a 2016 first-round pick, missed his first practice of training camp with a knee injury that Shanahan suggested could require minor surgery. When asked about the injuries to Smith and Garnett, Shanahan said “neither one of them are good news, that’s for sure.”
The 49ers aren’t ruling out the possibility that Garnett could return by the season opener against Carolina on Sept. 10.
“There’s some stuff in his knee we’re probably going to have to clean up,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think it’s anything long term, but it’s going to be a little bit of time.”
Garnett, who started 11 games as a rookie, has taken the vast majority of first-team snaps at left guard in training camp. Zane Beadles took his spot Saturday. The loser of the starting center battle between Jeremy Zuttah and Daniel Kilgore could also start at left guard.
Based on their strengths, the 49ers could use both Foster and Armstrong to replace Smith. Armstrong, a former college safety, excels in pass coverage, while Foster is known for ferocious run defense. Foster has had three interceptions in training camp, though he did not have a pick in his 39-game career at Alabama.
“Ray-Ray is a great cover linebacker,” Bowman said. “… Reuben will definitely come downhill and smack you. They’re both smart guys. I think at linebacker you have be smart and patient.”
The 49ers hope Foster is ready to assume a full-time role, but he’s being brought along slowly after missing the offseason program due to shoulder surgery. Foster started training camp with the third-team defense, and Saleh said Wednesday he’ll be promoted when he “absolutely deserves it.” Foster has moved to the second team, partly because of a rib injury to inside linebacker Brock Coyle.
Armstrong, 26, was a season-opening starter last year, but suffered a season-ending torn pectoral in Week 2. He signed a modest two-year contract extension in December before general manager Trent Baalke was fired. Briefly: Rookie defensive back Adrian Colbert left practice with an ankle injury and cornerback Rashard Robinson exited with hamstring tightness. … The 49ers’ only public practice of training camp drew 25,319 fans to Levi’s Stadium, according to the team. … The 49ers re-signed inside linebacker Jayson DiManche. The 49ers released DiManche, 26, on May 2 after he spent less than a month with the team.