The 49ers flew to Australia to open their season and lost a starting defensive tackle at practice before the game kicked off.
Kyle Shanahan confirmed Tuesday that Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon and will miss the entire 2026 season. He needs surgery and is headed to injured reserve. San Francisco plays the Rams on Thursday at Melbourne Cricket Ground without him.
“Alfred tore his patellar tendon yesterday. That was a big loss,” Shanahan said. “We’ve lost two D-linemen pretty much for the year after cuts and before the first game which has been a huge challenge. I’m hurting for Alfred. It was real unfortunate for him.”
The depth chart problem
Collins was slated to start alongside Osa Odighizuwa. That job now goes to some combination of C.J. West and rookie Gracen Halton, and neither of those names inspires confidence against a Rams offensive line in Week 1.
This also is not an isolated hit. Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu landed on injured reserve with a broken foot requiring surgery, which is the second defensive lineman Shanahan referenced. Losing two linemen after roster cuts is the worst possible timing, because the useful free agents are already gone and everyone else has settled their 53.
San Francisco is essentially starting the year with a patchwork interior. Against a division opponent. On the other side of the world.
What Collins was becoming
The Texas product played 16 games as a rookie in 2025, putting up 17 combined tackles, a sack, four quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and two passes defended. The counting stats are modest, which is normal for a rookie interior lineman whose job is mostly eating blocks.
The tape mattered more than the numbers. He earned a starting role heading into year two, which is a real endorsement from a staff that does not hand out snaps for free.
There is a cruel bit of symmetry here too. One of Collins’ best moments as a rookie was a forced and recovered fumble in a Week 5 win over the Rams. His season now ends before he gets another crack at them.
Why the injury type matters
Patellar tendon tears are among the tougher injuries to come back from for a big man. This is not a six-week ankle. It requires surgery, a long rehab, and a full year off, and the return to explosiveness is not automatic for players carrying that much mass.
Collins will be a 2027 story at the earliest, and the honest read is that nobody knows what he looks like when he gets there.
What it means Thursday
Interior pressure is what makes San Francisco’s defense function. When the middle collapses, the edge rushers get cleaner lanes and the secondary gets an extra half second. Take that away and the whole structure gets softer.
The Rams have a quarterback who punishes clean pockets. If West and Halton cannot hold up, San Francisco is going to spend Thursday night asking its linebackers and safeties to cover for a problem they cannot fix.
Shanahan will scheme around it, because that is what he does. Extra blitzes, more stunts, heavier fronts on early downs. Scheme buys you a game or two. Over 17 weeks, you need bodies.
The 49ers were already thin here. Now they are opening the season shorthanded in the exact place a defense can least afford it, and their best option is that somebody in that room becomes a player faster than anyone expected.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
