McGlinchey to undergo knee surgery
The unbeaten 49ers have the NFL’s fourthranked offense despite losing Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley and running back Tevin Coleman to injuries this season.
But it could be hard to keep up their pace: The injuries just keep on coming.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that right tackle Mike McGlinchey will have arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday and will miss 46 weeks after he was injured in a 313 win over the Browns on Monday. The 49ers also lost fullback Kyle Juszczyk (knee), another key part of the NFL’s topranked rushing attack, and he is also expected to miss 46 weeks.
The 49ers will turn to offensive tackle Daniel Brunskill to replace McGlinchey, the No. 9 pick in 2018 who hasn’t missed a game — at any level — in his football career. Brunskill, a 2017 undrafted free agent, has played eight career snaps, all this season. He spent the previous two seasons on the Falcons’ practice squad.
The 49ers, who lost their top backup tackle, Shon Cole
man, to a seasonending injury in August, have started rookie sixthround pick Justin Skule in Staley’s spot the past two games.
Shanahan said the latest injuries meant he would tweak the offense before the 49ers (40) visit the Rams (32) on Sunday.
“When you lose real good players — when you lose two tackles and your fullback — you always have to make adjustments,” Shanahan said. “But we’re not going to reinvent the wheel, either. You’ve got to go out and play football and just try your hardest to put them in a position that gives them the best chance to be successful.”
The 49ers’ run game has been rolling — and their pass protection has been excellent — while they have outscored their opponents 12757 this season.
The 49ers are averaging 200 rushing yards a game and had their most rushing yards (275) since 2014 on Monday with Skule making his second career start. Running back Matt Breida leads the NFL in yards per carry (6.5), Raheem Mostert ranks sixth (5.8) and Coleman, the starter, returned Monday after missing two games and had 97 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 19yard run.
Meanwhile, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has taken just four sacks and the 49ers have gained at least 400 yards in their past three games for the first time since 2003.
“We’ve been playing very physical these past four games,” Shanahan said. “We can’t lose that at all. No matter who’s been out there, guys have brought it on every play.”
Now the 49ers will be forced to bring in Brunskill, 25, who spent part of the spring playing in the defunct Alliance of American Football with the San Diego Fleet.
Shanahan wasn’t involved in signing Brunskill in April, but he gradually won the coach over and made the initial 53man roster. Brunskill can play every position on the line.
“I didn’t know much about him until he got here in OTAs and training camp,” Shanahan said. “I got to see him then and I became a believer. He was ‘No. 61’ for a while, but then he became Brunskill. … He earned his spot on this team.”
It’s not as clear who will replace Juszczyk, a threetime Pro Bowl selection who is the only fullback on the roster. The 49ers worked out seven fullbacks this week, but none were signed.
“You don’t replace Kyle,” Shanahan said. “He’s one of a kind at fullback. … No one’s going to fully replace him. We’ve just got to do some different things and adjust.”
The 49ers will likely use their tight ends, George Kittle, Ross Dwelley and Levine Toilolo, at Juszczyk’s spot. In addition, they could use more formations that include one running back and two tight ends.
The injury situation isn’t ideal, but a silver lining for the 49ers is that they could have Staley, McGlinchey, Juszczyk and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (foot injury) all back by late November for the final six games.
“When you get bad news, you want to turn it into some good news,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got a decent record right now and got to keep it going. Hopefully when they come back, they’re a part of something.”