Another Rookie Injures Knee During 49ers' Joint Practice with Raiders

Henderson, NV -- The 49ers just finished Day 15 of training camp, which was a joint practice against the Raiders. Here's who stood out.

Keep in mind, rookie defensive tackle CJ West left practice early with a hyperextended knee (more on West in a minute). The 49ers say his injury isn't serious, but he will have more tests to make sure. A week ago, rookie first-round pick Myke Williams hyperextended his knee during the 49ers' joint practice against the Broncos, and he hasn't returned yet. Which means West most likely will miss at least a week, which isn't great news for the 49ers, because they need to him to play Week 1 and they're already extremely thin on the defensive line.

THE GOOD

1. Quarterback Brock Purdy

Jul 24, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) works on his footwork in the pocket during the second day of training camp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Absolutely eviscerated a Raiders defense that isn't nearly as good as the Broncos defense the 49ers faced last week. Granted, the Raiders defense lacks talent and is running one of the most outdated schemes in the NFL -- thank you, Pete Carroll. After practice, George Kittle said the Raiders were running the same stuff that the Seahawks ran 10 years ago. And Kyle Shanahan knew how to beat that stuff back then. You'd think Carroll would have evolved, but he hasn't, and Purdy made him pay.

2. Running back Christian McCaffrey

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) watches warm ups before the game against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Was targeted lots of times by Purdy because so many wide receivers are injured. It's definitely smarter to throw the ball to McCaffrey than some backup such as Russell Gage or Robbie Chosen. I expect McCaffrey to have a big season catching the ball.

3. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Currently is the fourth option in the 49ers' passing game due to so many injuries at wide receiver, and today he made a nice 20-yard catch up the right sideline. Juszczyk actually is a solid receiver when the 49ers throw him the ball, which isn't often. They prefer to use him as the league's worst decoy.

4. Tight end George Kittle

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) watches from the sideline in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Has established himself as by far the best receiver on the team and the No. 1 target in the offense. The 49ers tried to force Ricky Pearsall into that role the past couple weeks, but he simply isn't as good as Kittle, who is a go-to guy. Pearsall is more of a complementary receiver. Kittle is a future Hall of Famer and the best tight end in the league, even better than Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

5. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jacob Cowing (19) reacts after making a catch for a first down against the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Suddenly, he's one of the few healthy wide receivers on the team after missing the first three weeks of camp with a hamstring injury. Today, he made a diving catch near the sideline on a pass thrown by Purdy. At this rate, Cowing might have to start Week 1 against the Seahawks.

6. Nickelback Chase Lucas

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Bryce Oliver (80) hauls a pass over San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chase Lucas (26) during their first preseason game of the 2024-25 season at Nissan Stadium Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Played every snap of practice because he was the only healthy nickelback, which isn't fair to him. Also, the 49ers are one injury away from having zero nickelbacks, so you think they'd be more cautious with Lucas, but what choice do they have other than cancelling practice entirely? Today, Lucas intercepted a pass that a wide receiver dropped. He's having an outstanding offseason.

7. Cornerback Jakob Robinson

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos running back Blake Watson (25) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers safety Jaylen Mahoney (38) while leaping over cornerback Jakob Robinson (49) in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Broke up a pass thrown by Aiden O'Connell during 11-on-11 team drills. Robinson needs to add about 10 pounds of muscle, but once he does, he will be a quality starting cornerback in the NFL. I'm calling it now.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Defensive tackle CJ West

Jun 10, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle CJ West (99) participates in a blocking drill during an OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Left practice early with a hyperextended knee. The 49ers have so many injured defensive linemen, the ones who are healthy have to play extra reps during practice, and the extra workload seems to be leading to injuries. Which means the 49ers' injury issue is snowballing out of control. Players go down, which forces other players to practice more, which leads to more players going down. The preseason can't end soon enough for this team. They're limping toward the regular season.

2. Offensive tackle Andre Dillard

Aug 12, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Tennessee Titans tackle Andre Dillard (71) against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

The 49ers signed Dillard this offseason to be Trent Williams' backup. Then, Dillard missed OTAs, minicamp and the first two weeks of training camp and the preseason opener against the Broncos. This week, the 49ers activated him, and he practiced twice -- on Monday and Tuesday. Apparently, he injured his ankle, and now he's out for the season. I, for one, will remember the Dillard Era fondly. I wonder who will play Dillard in the movie about his remarkable tenure with the 49ers.

3. Offensive tackle Spencer Burford

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Spencer Burford (74) watches the action from the sideline in the first quarter vs. the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Started at left tackle and got beaten by everyone and anyone he faced. This poor man is going to have to play regular-season snaps at left tackle eventually, and he will not perform well, because he's a guard, and not a particularly good one. The 49ers don't have a legitimate backup offensive tackle on their roster.

4. Defensive end Nick Bosa

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa (97) watches from the sidelines in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Missed yet another practice with what the 49ers are calling "neck soreness." Bosa has practiced just once in the past two weeks, so his neck must be really sore. This is an injury to monitor. The 49ers are notorious when it comes to downplaying injuries to key players, and Bosa was injured for half of last season.

5. Guard Ben Bartch

Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Ben Bartch (78) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Missed his second practice in a row with an elbow injury. The 49ers say it isn't serious, but what is serious is how frequently Bartch goes down. He's not durable enough to be a starter. I predict that rookie Connor Colby will start more games at left guard this season than Bartch will.

6. Safety Jason Pinnock

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Jason Pinnock (25) jersey swaps with Denver Broncos cornerback Damarri Mathis (27) at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Missed his second practice in a row with what the 49ers are calling a heel injury, which doesn't sound alarming. But the heel is connected to the Achilles, so this is something to monitor. Pinnock's backup, Ji'Ayir Brown, is a significant downgrade.

7. Nickelback Upton Stout

Jul 23, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Upton Stout (20) runs a play during the first day of training camp at SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Missed his third practice in a row with a calf injury. Considering all the soft-tissue injuries the 49ers players have suffered in camp this offseason, you'd think they'd change their stretching routine. Because both the Raiders and Broncos do static stretching before practice, while the 49ers do not. Instead, they do dynamic stretches only, and those don't seem to be working well enough.

8. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir

Jun 10, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir speaks to the media following an OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Gave up three touchdown catches today -- one to Brock Bowers and two to Tre Tucker, whom I've never heard of. It seems Raiders quarterback Geno Smith went out of his way to target Lenoir -- those two might have history from when Smith played for the Seahawks. Lenoir likes to talk crap, and so does Smith.

9. Linebacker Luke Gifford

Tennessee Titans linebacker Luke Gifford (57) takes the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He's the biggest liabilty in coverage on the 49ers' defense. Any time the Raiders needed a completion, they called a play-action pass in his direction, and he was lost. The 49ers need to find a replacement for him. He's a special teams player.

10. Kicker Jake Moody

Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody (4) kicks an extra point as punter Thomas Morstead (7) holds the ball in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Missed a 55-yard field goal attempt wide right. So, he's in midseason form.

THE FINAL TAKEAWAYS

1. The following defensive linemen currently are injured: Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, CJ West, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, Sam Okuayinonu and Robert Beal. I don't know how the 49ers are going to play a preseason game in two days. They don't have enough bodies.

2. The 49ers and Raiders played a joint practice against each other two years ago. Back then, the 49ers had a Super-Bowl caliber roster, and it showed. This time, they looked only marginally better than the Raiders.

3. Kyle Shanahan said he intends to play the starters a bit on Saturday. Let's see how many are actually healthy enough to suit up.