San Francisco 49ers make smart move by placing rookie WR De’Zhaun Stribling on IR after ankle injury suffered in 2026 opener
The San Francisco 49ers officially placed WR De’Zhaun Stribling on Injured Reserve due to a deltoid ligament sprain suffered in his left ankle against the Rams. Stribling will have to miss at least four games of action.
The San Francisco 49ers have officially placed rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling on injured reserve. Stribling suffered a deltoid ligament sprain in his left ankle during the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. The move will sideline Stribling for at least 4 games, roughly a month of action, and opens a roster spot for the 49ers to address depth at the position.
This is tough news for the 49ers after the great preseason that Stribling put together. There’s no doubt they will miss his presence out there on the field. But overall, this shows a message of patience over panic for San Francisco that will serve them well in the long run.
A smart roster move by San Francisco
Look, this is the right call. When the initial reports came out about Stribling’s injury, everything pointed to about a month-long absence anyway. Placing him on IR is the smartest thing the 49ers could do. It clears up a roster spot, and San Francisco has already promoted Kha’Darel Hodge to the active 53-man roster. Hodge is more of a return threat than a legitimate weapon at receiver, but the 49ers just need bodies in that room right now.
Obviously, this stinks. It’s another injury to pile onto an already lengthy list for San Francisco, and the fact that it’s Stribling makes it sting even more. This is a player who had an insane preseason and training camp, generating serious hype and buzz heading into his rookie year.
He was my pick for offensive rookie of the year.
The silver lining
I think the bigger picture here is actually encouraging. When we saw that non-contact injury, Stribling running a post route over the middle and just pulling up on that left leg, it looked a lot worse than a month-long setback. You feared the worst — maybe an Achilles tear or something else that could have wiped out his entire rookie season. The fact that it’s only a deltoid ligament sprain in his ankle is honestly a good thing, all things considered.
Just think about all the non-contact injuries we’ve seen from players over the years in the NFL. There’s no doubt in my mind the 49ers got lucky with De’Zhaun Stribling’s diagnosis.
This isn’t a surprise move by San Francisco. It was expected, and the 49ers handled it efficiently. Now the wait begins, but assuming Stribling’s rehab goes well, the 49ers should be able to get their explosive rookie back on the field in about a month and doing what he does best. Everyone knows they need him out there if they want to capture that ever-so-elusive Super Bowl title.
