San Francisco 49ers fans have been dreading the thought of more players finding themselves on the injury list, which was very big heading into the season opener. Their fears came true with rookie standout wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling being ruled out of the game with an injury to his leg.
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Seven-ish minutes into the quarter, Stribling was rushing to catch a pass from Brock Purdy. He was on top of that route, but broke away toward his left, and then hobbled with an apparent injury to his right leg and fell on the turf. He was not in contact with any player.
Jeff Mueller, a doctor of physical therapy and football injury analyst for Fantasy Points, analyzed Stribling’s fall in an X post and identified three major concerns.
“Left lower leg for De’Zhaun Stribling,” Mueller wrote on X. “Non-contact but not a good angle to see if the Achilles went. Concerns for: 1. Achilles 2. Calf strain 3. Fibular/Ankle injury. Probably in that order. Was helped into the medical tent non-weight bearing.”
Sports and family medicine expert Jesse Morse also shared Mueller’s concerns on X. He didn’t rule out the possibility of an Achilles tear since Stribling was carted off. If it is one, the young WR can see his season end prematurely.
Stribling was making an impact for the Niners in the game. Pro Football Focus analyst Nathan Jahnke noted that Stribling recorded a team-high 18 snaps after the third drive. However, he had never been targeted once through the first three drives.
The 49ers selected the rookie WR in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft (33rd overall) after general manager John Lynch had to trade down twice to stock up on draft picks. Stribling impressed the 49ers during the offseason practices and preseason games and is a great athlete. At the NFL Combine, the 6’2 standout clocked a 4.36-second 40-yard dash.
In his first preseason game vs the Tennessee Titans, Stribling became the second NFL receiver in the last 10 years to catch seven passes in the first 20 minutes of a preseason game. He caught seven passes for 63 yards and was also rested eight minutes before the end of the game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan praised how his hands looked during receptions and how physical he was during the plays.
Stribling even impressed his fellow wide receivers.
“He gets the job done,” veteran WR Mike Evans said about Stribling. “Strib gets the job done… He’s been a pro—the way he practices, the way he prepares. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us this year.”
Stribling put himself on the radar early on in the training camp, making all of his catches in the first two days. He also put on a show, catching a 70-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones. Stribling worked with both first- and second-team offenses in practice.
“Dude is a baller and I mean that,” quarterback Brock Purdy said in training camp. “It’s hard to say that for a rookie right off the jump, but just seeing him run routes, going up against defenders in OTAs and in camp yesterday. He’s a great route runner. He’s smart. He’s learned the playbook really quick— which is awesome.
“On top of that, you can see his strength when he’s going up against guys and creating separation, I’m like ‘Alright, this guy is a strong receiver’, so I’m excited to see what he does. All of us, all the quarterbacks in the room were like ‘Alright, this guy is gonna be a guy that comes in and plays.
It’s big for rookies to open regular-season games. And if they do, it’s mostly because of their impeccable talent. Such was the case with De’Zhaun Stribling. Unfortunately, his story ended even before he had the chance to impress the international crowd in Melbourne.
