SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco defensive tackle Kalia Davis will undergo knee surgery after injuring his knee on the opening play of an exhibition game, the latest injury for the 49ers.
San Francisco was missing more than a dozen players from practice on Monday due to injuries, prompting coach Kyle Shanahan to cancel a joint practice scheduled for this week against the New Orleans Saints.
“It was hard because we love doing it,” Shanahan said Monday. “Ultimately, I waited so long to make the decision because we enjoy it so much. But when we realized we were only doing it because we enjoyed it and we were trying to break the monotony, it wasn’t worth it.”
While most of the injured players have only minor injuries that should be healed by the season opener on Sept. 9, Davis will miss significantly more time. Shanahan said he expects the third-year defensive tackle to miss about half of the regular season after his injury Saturday night. Cornerback Ambry Thomas also broke his forearm in that game and will also miss about half of the season.
Davis had a sack and two tackles for loss on Saturday against Tennessee, showing the potential the Niners had hoped for after Davis played little in his first two seasons due to a knee injury in college.
“I thought he played one of his best games,” Shanahan said. “It was a real shame. He played great the whole game, so we were surprised, both he and us, that he suffered such a serious injury.”
While Thomas and Davis are the only injuries expected to linger into the season, several other players, including Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Ricky Pearsall, Isaac Yiadom, Jon Feliciano and Spencer Burford, are currently sidelined, leading to the decision to cancel training sessions with the Saints.
The 49ers like the group workouts because they allow their core players to work harder in a structured environment than in tryouts, but they have decided that it would be better to forego them this year for health reasons.
“I was very disappointed,” said cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. “We’ve been competing with each other for so long. I think it would have been great to skip that for two days with another team and then play in a game for a little bit. Just be a little competitive.”
San Francisco is still missing two other key players from practice: Receiver Brandon Aiyuk is executing a hold-in strategy and left tackle Trent Williams is holding back while looking for new contracts.
Aiyuk is attending meetings but has not practiced with the team or played any sports, but Shanahan believes he will be ready for the season once the contract situation is resolved.
“Brandon knows what he has to do this year to be ready to play,” Shanahan said. “I feel like he’s finding a way to stay in shape and do those things, but he really wants to get back in shape. Hopefully he can do that soon. Brandon knows what he has to do to be in shape for the season, and I’m confident he can do that.”
The Niners added reinforcements on Monday when they signed veteran receiver Robbie Chosen to a one-year deal and released receiver Frank Darby due to injury.
The 31-year-old Chosen, known as Robby Anderson when he entered the league in 2016, gained 4,155 yards in his first five NFL seasons with the New York Jets and Carolina, but has been far less productive in the last three seasons.
Anderson played nine games last season for Miami, which has a similar offense to San Francisco, and recorded just four catches for 126 yards and one touchdown.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga could also soon return after tearing an ACL last November. Hufanga will meet with doctors on Thursday to determine if he is ready to return to practice.
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