Former Cardinal Robinson carted off field during 49ers practice

Dylan Grausz | Sep 28, 2024

August 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Curtis Robinson (59) after the game against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The injury bug has plagued the San Francisco 49ers so far this season, but it appears that the two former Stanford alumni on the team are getting the worst of it. After running back Christian McCaffrey was placed on the IR earlier in the year with an achilles injury, linebacker Curtis Robinson was carted off the practice field this week after reportedly going down with a non-contact knee injury.

A key player on the 49ers’ special teams, Robinson injured his knee during special teams work ahead of the official start of practice and was carted off, and while the official injury and timeline for return still to be determined, general manager John Lynch sounded concerned about Robinson’s status when asked about it on KNBR radio on Friday afternoon.

"Curtis, I think we're a little worried, and that didn't look good," Lynch said on the radio. "Non-contact deal. Curtis had worked his tail off. Really, a good contributor for us. So we'll see where that goes. But the early signs weren't good, I can tell you that."

Through the first three games, Robinson has played solely on special teams, having yet to take a snap on defense but with injuries piling up in San Francisco, he was expected to have a bigger role this week when the 49ers host the New England Patriots. In three games, Robinson has one tackle.

In five years with the Cardinal, playing for the team from 2016-2020, Robinson finished his Stanford career with 143 tackles, four sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery with his best season being his 2019 redshirt junior campaign where he made 64 tackles (three for loss) in 12 games, with two sacks and a forced fumble. Going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, Robinson signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Denver Broncos, spending part of the year there before being released and signing with the 49ers.

In addition to Robinson’s injury, it was recently announced that McCaffrey was in Germany visiting a specialist about his achilles, raising questions about the status of his return.