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49ers DEs Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos Injure Knees vs. Raiders

The 49ers signed both Floyd and Gross-Matos this offseason to revamp their defensive end position after letting Chase Young and Randy Gregory leave.

Grant Cohn

Aug 10, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos (94) down in his stance against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 10, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos (94) down in his stance against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports / Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
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Two key defensive ends for the 49ers injured their knees Friday night in the preseason finale against the Raiders.

First Yetur Gross-Matos went down, then Leonard Floyd went down two plays later. Neither player returned to the game and both are scheduled for MRIs. Which means their injuries could be serious. Although during the game both were shown hanging out and smiling on the sideline, which means their injuries might not be serious. We'll find out shortly.

The 49ers signed both Floyd and Gross-Matos this offseason to revamp their defensive end position after letting Chase Young and Randy Gregory leave. Along with Nick Bosa, those three players are the only proven defensive ends the 49ers have. Which means the 49ers currently have one healthy defensive end they trust -- Nick Bosa.

That's because Drake Jackson is out for the year with a torn patellar tendon. And last year's fifth-round pick, Robert Beal Jr., seems completely ineffective. So defensive end suddenly has become the thinnest position on the team. The 49ers might need Nick Bosa to play close to 100 percent of the defensive snaps when usually he plays only three-quarters of the defensive snaps.

Don't be surprised if the 49ers trade for a defensive end or claim one off waivers in the next few days. Even if they get good news about Floyd and Gross-Matos, Beal hasn't done enough to make the 53-man roster. He should get waived and replaced by someone not currently on the 49ers.

Stay tuned.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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