San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive end Mykel Williams will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday, the latest in a rash of serious injuries to the team’s key players this season.
Williams, the Niners’ first-round pick (No. 11) in April, was injured late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, with San Francisco leading by 17. Shanahan said after the game that the team feared Williams had torn his ACL. Testing on Monday confirmed the diagnosis and also revealed damage to the lateral meniscus.
Shanahan said the injury was otherwise clean, but he did not provide a precise recovery timeline. “It will heal great,” he said.
Williams, 21, has started all nine games this season, collecting 20 tackles (four for loss), one sack and three quarterback hits. The Niners have now lost both of their starting defensive ends for the season to torn ACLs, after Nick Bosa suffered the same injury in Week 3.
Bosa also tore an ACL while playing on MetLife’s artificial surface in Week 2 of the 2020 season in a win over the New York Jets. The 49ers suffered a slew of injuries — including an ACL tear for defensive lineman Solomon Thomas — against the Jets that day, and 49ers players have been suspicious of MetLife’s field ever since.
With Bosa out for the season and No. 2 pass rusher Bryce Huff dealing with a hamstring strain, the Niners picked up a pair of defensive linemen last week, trading for Keion White and adding Clelin Ferrell to the practice squad. Both played against the Giants, with Ferrell recording one of San Francisco’s two sacks.
Huff is expected back this week against the Los Angeles Rams, Shanahan said, although the pass-rushing specialist has yet to start a game this season. Yetur Gross-Matos would have been a strong replacement for Williams in the starting lineup, but he landed on injured reserve Saturday with a recurring hamstring injury and must miss at least three more games. The next-best fill-in might be White.
The 49ers (6-3) might not be finished adding defensive linemen, either. They’ve made phone calls even after trading for White and reportedly have shown interest in trading for one of three Miami Dolphins pass rushers: Jaelen Phillips (who was dealt to Philadelphia on Monday morning), Bradley Chubb and Matthew Judon. Other possibilities include Atlanta’s Arnold Ebiketie and the Jets’ Jermaine Johnson.
The trade deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
In other injury news, the Niners will not open the 21-day practice window for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this week, as he remains on the physically unable to perform list while working back from a torn ACL suffered last season. Receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) and center Jake Brendel (hamstring) have a chance to return this week, Shanahan said.
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