With as many players as the 49ers currently have on the sidelines due to injuries, chances are the team will be scanning the free agent market in the days ahead to see who can be brought in to help.
But while they will certainly be open to the possibility of adding new players to the roster, they also expect the players they currently have to step up.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed the issue after Sunday's 31-13 win over the New York Jets, which saw the team lose quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (high ankle sprain), defensive linemen Nick Bosa (knee/possible ACL tear) and Solomon Thomas (knee), and running backs Tevin Coleman (knee) and Raheem Mostert (knee). Those injuries are in addition to a long list of previously-injured players that includes tight end George Kittle (knee), defensive end Dee Ford (neck), defensive end Ronald Blair (knee), cornerback Richard Sherman (calf), wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), and wide receiver Richie James (hamstring).
The injuries to Samuel and James pushed the 49ers to add Mohamed Sanu to the wide receiver room last week. Not all of the new injuries may prove to be serious enough to cause the 49ers to look for outside help in the coming days, but the injuries to Garoppolo and Bosa in particular could call for them to add some new faces to the roster.
"Possibly," Shanahan told reporters during his postgame press conference. "We were looking into that anyways, so we'll see how everything plays out these next couple days. We've got some guys in our practice squad and everything that we've got a lot of confidence in. We'll see who's out there and however we can help our team. I know John [general manager John Lynch] and his group will bring those guys in. We've also got some guys here that can step up and help us too."
The 49ers have two healthy and experienced quarterbacks on the roster in Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard, but if Garoppolo is expected to miss any extended period of time, they may want to make it a point to keep three given the lingering uncertainty as a result of COVID-19. At defensive end, the team has already kicked the tires on free agent Ezekiel Ansah, and they also have a veteran on the practice squad in Dion Jordan. It seems likely Jordan will get the call to the active roster, while it remains to be seen if the 49ers show renewed interest in Ansah or decide to pursue another player.
The team will also hope for good news on Ford, who Shanahan classified as day-to-day after Sunday's game. In the meantime, Shanahan expects to see his players work to improve as they head to West Virginia to begin preparations for next week's game against the New York Giants.
"I know our guys feel for the guys who got hurt, but I also know our guys have a lot of confidence in the other people here who can help," Shanahan said. "We feel there's a lot of ways our team can win. Our players feel that also. We're going to get on a plane together, enjoy it a little bit tonight, get out to West Virginia and work on how we can keep improving."
