The 49ers gambled in Las Vegas by playing top assets in their preseason finale. That strategy quickly backfired with injuries at a marquee position offering scarce depth.
Defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos, two of their prized additions in free agency, hobbled off with first-quarter knee injuries in Friday night’s 24-24 tie with the Raiders. Neither injury immediately appeared to threaten their availability for the Sept. 9 regular-season opener.
Coach Kyle Shanahan knew that risk as he dispatched key players — but not marquee defensive end Nick Bosa — onto the same field where the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII six months ago. (Yes, they also failed to hold a 3-point lead in the final minutes of that game; overtime is not held in the preseason.)
Offensively, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle made their preseason debuts as productive targets for Brock Purdy — and that trio appeared to escape injury. “It felt sort of like last year with our guys being on the field and making plays,” Purdy said on CBS-5’s broadcast during the third quarter.
Another offensive star was surprisingly present but not in uniform: Brandon Aiyuk, who traveled with the team and mingled on the field pregame despite no official word of a breakthrough in his contract talks.
The special teams units made their presence known, too. First came an 81-yard punt return for a Raiders touchdown in the second quarter. The 49ers counterpunched, as rookie speedster Isaac Guerendo delivered a 93-yard, tackle-breaking kick return in his debut to set up a 49ers’ touchdown for a 17-14 halftime lead.
ONE-TWO INJURY PUNCH
Losing two defensive ends in a span of three snaps was the most stunning sequence.
Gross-Matos, starting as Bosa safely sat out another preseason, got his knee wrenched as linebacker DeVondre Campbell made a tackle to open the defense’s second series. Two snaps later, Floyd’s right knee got hurt pass rushing as he tangled legs with Maliek Collins with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
Floyd was the 49ers’ most accomplished addition this offseason. He hasn’t missed a game in six seasons, so the 49ers really are banking on that durability now as a pass-rushing threat opposite Bosa. Gross-Matos quickly established himself as the No. 3 defensive end.
It’s a position where the 49ers already ruled out 2022 top pick Drake Jackson for the season because of a knee injury. Robert Beal Jr., Alex Barrett, Sam Okuayinonu, and Jonathan Garvin are their other defensive ends ahead of Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline. Okuayinonu delivered a last-minute sack.
PURDY’S PERFORMANCE
Those injuries preceded the 49ers’ third offensive series — and the final one featuring Purdy, Kittle and Samuel. Purdy produced scoring drives on the opening two possessions, and he was on the threshold of more points until throwing a red zone interception, on a fastball Samuel failed to grab in tight coverage.
Purdy (9-of-12, 96 yards) opened with a one-pump, 27-yard catch to a backpedaling Samuel down the left sideline. Then came a 15-yard completion to Kittle over the middle, further sparking a drive that culminated with a 47-yard, Jake Moody field goal.
As happened twice in his first-quarter cameo of Sunday’s preseason win over New Orleans, Purdy again got pushed twice to the grass and onto his throwing shoulder. Charles Snowden did it first as Purdy escaped a slot-corner blitz on the first series, and Purdy got tossed again after completing a 15-yard, rollout pass to Chris Conley. More punishment came via a sack as protection broke down among left tackle Jaylon Moore and left guard Nick Zakelj, who started in place of Trent Williams (contract holdout) and Aaron Banks (pinky surgery).
“For us to get hit, that’s part of the game and you’ve got to feel that,” Purdy said on CBS-5.
He also put his body on the line when he scrambled 14 yards to the Raiders’ 17-yard line, evoking memories of a third-down scramble that helped the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game comeback win over Detroit. That second-series run Friday night ended with a Jordan Mason touchdown run, and like his score in the preseason opener at Tennessee, Mason was pushed across the goal line by Dominick Puni, the 49ers’ rookie starter at right guard.
AIYUK SHOWS UP, SITS OUT
AIyuk walked into Allegiant Stadium with Samuel but did not suit up nor participate in warmups. Chris Conley started in Aiyuk’s place opposite Samuel. Aiyuk did not attend the preseason opener two weeks ago in Tennessee, and he was in a suite watching Sunday’s home win over New Orleans.
Also not playing in any of the three preseason games: running backs Christian McCaffrey (calf) and Elijah Mitchell (hamstring), fullback Kyle Juszczyk, defensive end Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner, and cornerback Charvarius Ward, as well as Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams amid those latter two’s contract stalemates.
Williams’ holdout cost him an additional $1.1 million Friday — equivalent to a regular-season game check — and that raised his total to $4.15 million in fines that can’t be reduced or waived, under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement for a contract signed in free agency.
GUERENDO’S PRO DEBUT
Guerendo played as advertised: a fourth-round draft pick with unmatched speed. That goes beyond his 93-yard kick return in the second quarter. He returned the game’s opening kickoff 29 yards. Back-to-back, 6-yard runs in the red zone set up Mason’s touchdown for a 10-0 lead. He later converted a short-yardage run for a 3-yard gain. It was his 93-yard return set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Patrick Taylor Jr., who broke a backfield tackle after a poor block by Cam Latu.
PEARSALL’S STATUS
Also noticeably absent all preseason was wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, the 49ers’ first-round draft pick. A hamstring delayed his entry into camp, then after a week of practice, he aggravated a shoulder injury that traced to at least the spring, post-draft practices.
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mike Silver told KNBR-680 AM that Pearsall “has a shoulder thing that is now recurring and I think worrying over the long haul, something they knew about before they drafted him and were hoping wouldn’t be a thing.” Pearsall has conditioned on the side in recent weeks, and he showed now impingement while casually throwing a football and playing catch this week.
GAME NOTES
— Pass-game specialist Klay Kubiak called plays for the third time in as many preseason games instead of Kyle Shanahan, who noted last week he will resume play-calling duties come the regular-season opener Sept. 9 when the New York Jets visit Levi’s Stadium.
— Floyd’s first series in a 49ers uniform saw him make a third-down stop on quarterback Nathan Peterman to trigger a three-and-out opening series. Collins and Gross-Matos also donned 49ers’ jerseys for their first time.
— Brandon Allen relieved Purdy and was 5-of-7 for 60 yards with two sacks. Josh Dobbs (5-of-7, 60 yards) entered midway through the third quarter before rookie Tanner Mordecai’s bullpen call with six minutes to go.
— Rookie Malik Mustapha made his debut in the opening lineup in place of George Odum, who’d taken almost all first-team reps in training camp; Talanoa Hufanga is on the Physically Unable To Perform list and could remain there at least the first month of the season unless the 49ers unexpectedly expedite his comeback the next two weeks of practice.
