De'Zhaun Stribling’s exit from the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Rams looked bad in real time, and the first update only narrowed the concern so far.
The rookie wide receiver was carted off after a non-contact injury in the first half, then quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. He had played 21 snaps before leaving, and the early sequence — unable to put pressure on his left leg, helped to the sideline, then taken to the X-ray room — immediately pointed the conversation toward the possibility of something more serious.
That fear has been trimmed back, but not erased.
After the game, coach Kyle Shanahan said Stribling has an injured left ankle, but that his Achilles tendon is intact. That distinction matters. It removes one of the biggest immediate worries from the list, but it does not yet tell the 49ers what the full ankle diagnosis will be.
An MRI is still next.
Shanahan said the team still needs more testing to determine the severity of the injury, and there is still uncertainty about whether it could be a high-ankle sprain. Until that scan is done, the 49ers know only that one major concern has been ruled out — not what comes after it.
The timing is also awkward for a team that was already dealing with injuries before the season even settled in. San Francisco traveled to Australia for its Week 1 matchup with the Rams and had already lost defensive tackle Alfred Collins to a season-ending knee injury in practice. On the first injury report of the season, the 49ers had nine players listed as limited.
Stribling’s injury came early enough to leave the 49ers with a short sample of what he was able to do before the setback. He was on the field for 21 snaps, then left after the non-contact play that sent him to the sideline and out of the game.
For now, the update is narrower than the original alarm. The Achilles is intact. The ankle is still injured. And the MRI will determine how much more the 49ers have to sort through.