The San Francisco 49ers are undefeated and have looked like one of the better teams in the NFL through the first two weeks. They beat the Los Angeles Rams, who entered the season as Super Bowl favorites, 27-7 in their opener, outplaying their NFC West rivals in every phase of the game. They followed that up with a commanding 35-13 win over the Dolphins in Week 2.
But what's most impressive is they've done it all while navigating multiple injuries at wide receiver. On Tuesday, the 49ers brought in a veteran to help offset some of those losses, reportedly signing Brandin Cooks to the practice squad. More news: Joey Porter Jr Rejected Deal to Pay Him More than Patrick Surtain, Jaycee Horn The injuries started piling up early for San Francisco.
Ricky Pearsall, a former first-round pick projected to have a big year, had surgery on a nagging PCL injury in August and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Veteran wideout Christian Kirk, whom the 49ers signed in March to be a reliable underneath option for Brock Purdy, injured his calf in training camp and remains on IR. And De'Zhaun Stribling, the team's second-round rookie who'd generated plenty of hype over the summer, went down in the season opener with an ankle injury and is now set to miss around 10 weeks.
Sunday's win over the Dolphins brought more bad news, with Demarcus Robinson suffering a high ankle sprain that's given him a three-to-six-week timeline, and Mike Evans dealing with a hip injury. Evans' injury isn't thought to be serious, but given everything else piling up, it makes sense for San Francisco to bring in another proven pass catcher. More news: Bears Could Turn to 38-Year-Old Veteran QB After Caleb Williams Injury More news: Falcons’ Injury Woes Continue as All-Pro Defender Lands on IR Cooks, a former first-round pick in 2014, has bounced around the NFL, playing for the Saints, Patriots, Rams, Texans, Cowboys, and, most recently, the Bills.
He has 9,811 career receiving yards and 60 career touchdowns. Last season with the Bills, he hauled in 24 catches for 279 yards during the regular season, and played well in the postseason, recording five catches for 78 yards across two playoff games. With San Francisco's receiver room banged up, Cooks should slot in as a proven veteran option for Purdy, giving the offense some much-needed depth at the position.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
