It wouldn’t be a San Francisco 49ers win without losing a key player during the game. This time, it was rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton who left with injury.

Halton, a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma, suffered a broken ankle in San Francisco’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He was taken off the field on a cart with an air cast around his left leg. 

After the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed to reporters that Halton will miss the rest of his rookie season.

That’s a tough way for a promising first year to end. But the 49ers have been here before, and they’re better equipped to handle this one than you might think.

Halton made an instant impact for the 49ers

Look, Halton wasn’t some rotational body taking up a roster spot. He was a real contributor on this defense from almost the moment he stepped on the field in the preseason.

Halton officially finishes his rookie season with 15 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. For a fourth-round rookie on a defensive line with established names around him, that’s productive football.

He didn’t need much time to settle in, either. In just the second game of his NFL career, Halton posted a season-high five tackles against the Miami Dolphins. That’s the type of early showing that tells you a coaching staff has found something.

It’s unfortunate that his season is getting cut off halfway through. Halton has done a lot of good things, and he showed plenty of promise for the future in a short amount of time.

San Francisco has the pieces to absorb the loss

Now, here’s the thing. The 49ers are obviously used to this at this point in the season.

San Francisco has dealt with more injuries than any other team in the league, and it’s been a recurring theme for this roster. Still, the Niners keep finding ways to win, and that’s because they have the depth to make it happen.

The timing on the defensive front could be a lot worse. Both Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams have returned from injury, which gives this unit its two most important pieces back right as Halton goes down.

Then there’s DeForest Buckner. The 49ers traded to bring Buckner back to San Francisco, and that move is looking even better now that Halton is out of the rotation. A veteran presence like Buckner is exactly what you want to plug into the middle of a line that just lost a productive young player.

Osa Odighizuwa is another name to watch. He put together a solid performance against the Raiders, but he’s been a fairly up-and-down player so far in San Francisco. With Halton sidelined, Odighizuwa is going to have to step up and bring more consistency week to week.

Is losing Halton a blow? Of course it is. But the 49ers’ defensive front is going to be just fine.

Halton is a really solid player, and you don’t replace his production with one move. San Francisco doesn’t have to, though. Between Bosa, Williams, Buckner, and Odighizuwa, Raheem Morris has the pieces around him to keep this unit rolling.

Halton will be back to wreak havoc

The hardest part of all of this is the human side. It’s tough to watch a promising rookie have his first NFL season cut short, especially one who was playing as well as Halton was.

But based on what we’ve seen from him so far, I have no doubt about how this story ends. Gracen Halton is going to come back from this injury, and when he does, he’s going to wreak havoc on opposing offenses once again.

For now, the 49ers will lean on their veterans and keep pushing. When Halton returns, San Francisco is getting back a defensive tackle who already proved he belongs.