LAS VEGAS (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers might have celebrated Saturday’s 22-19 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders as if it were a playoff game, rushing Jake Moody after his 59-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired, but they head back to the Bay Area lamenting a few more injuries.
The 49ers lost starting right guard Dominick Puni and two other offensive players in the first half.
Puni left with a knee injury on the game’s first drive while blocking for a field goal, and coach Kyle Shanahan said the second-year pro will miss “a few weeks.”
Shortly after Puni’s exit, backup running back and special teams player Patrick Taylor Jr. left with a shoulder injury. Next, it was rookie running back Corey Kiner, who is battling for a roster spot. Kiner replaced Taylor but left with an ankle injury after an 19-yard carry. Kiner was carted off the field.
Shanahan said Taylor dislocated his shoulder and Kiner suffered what was “most likely a high ankle” sprain, and both are expected to miss a couple of weeks.
“I mean, (we’ll) just deal with it,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully, we get a bunch of guys back here and we don’t lose anyone for the year or anything like that. We got pretty good luck on defense and special teams today, so that was good.
“But losing those three guys on offense was tough. But they won’t be off forever, so hopefully they’ll heal fast.”
The 49ers already had more than 20 players injured, including a banged-up group of wide receivers.
Star running back Christian McCaffrey has looked healthy this summer after missing most of last season with Achilles tendinitis and a knee injury. But four of his backups — including Jordan James (finger) and Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) — are now injured.
“We lost our two and three a couple weeks ago, and then the next guys up, we lost them today, but all those guys will be back,” Shanahan said. “We’ve been through that before. You can never have too many backs. We got a number of them, and we haven’t lost anyone for the year yet.”
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