Neck injury ends Garcon’s season
Pierre Garcon, the 49ers’ leading receiver and biggest free- agent acquisition, will be placed on season- ending injured reserve with a neck injury, the team announced Thursday.
The 31- year- old wideout has a non- displaced fracture that will require an eight- week recovery. He was injured in the second quarter of a 33- 10 loss to the Eagles on Sunday when he was pushed out of bounds and crashed into Philadelphia linebackers coach Ken Flajole.
Garcon signed a five- year, $ 47.5 million deal in March. He leads the 49ers with 40 catches for 500 yards and was on pace for the second- most catches of his 10- year career and his third 1,000- yard season.
Garcon’s injury is the latest blow to an 0- 8 team that now has six players on injured reserve who were starters or were projected to be before they were injured in training camp. In addition, Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley ( eye) and rookie defensive lineman Solomon Thomas ( knee), the No. 3 overall pick, are expected to miss the next two games. Rookie inside linebacker Reuben Foster, the No. 31 pick, hasn’t finished either of the two games he’s played.
The loss of Garcon means quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo won’t have a significant target when he makes his anticipated debut later this season after he was acquired from the Patriots in a trade Monday.
Without Garcon, the 49ers’ top wideouts are Marquise Goodwin ( 20 catches, 349 yards), Trent Taylor ( 22, 182) and Aldrick Robinson ( 10, 168). Garcon has 604 career catches. Without him, the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs on the roster have combined for 334 career catches.
Banged- up linebacker: Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Foster isn’t susceptible to injuries, although he’s been limited to 64 snaps in his first season. Foster didn’t miss a game at Alabama.
“He’s been very unlucky with the injuries that he’s had,” Saleh said. “He’s definitely not injury prone. That didn’t even cross my mind. He’s just been very unlucky and very unfortunate, some of the things that have happened to him. Once he gets his body back, the improvement is just going to skyrocket. It’s just a matter of getting him going.”
After missing the offseason program with a shoulder injury that required surgery, Foster missed five games with a high ankle sprain suffered in the season opener.
He returned in a loss to Dallas on Oct. 22, but suffered a rib injury and exited in the third quarter. He was expected to play last week but was held out because of back spasms. He has been limited in practice this week with his rib injury.