49ers' Mac Jones could be in line for team debut against the Saints in week 2!
The 2025-26 NFL season has just started, and even after the very first game, the San Francisco 49ers are dealing with multiple things. News from the camp sheds light on three key starters who are either questionable or unable to play in the upcoming week 2 matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
A trio of 49ers starters who played in their week 1 game against the Seattle Seahawks are now battling injuries, including quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, and wide receiver Jauan Jennings. The injury updates for each player are as follows.
Starting quarterback Brock Purdy is currently recovering from left shoulder and toe injuries. Despite being able to finish their season opener, Purdy now remains questionable to play in the week 2 game against the Saints, as per head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Although Purdy closed out the game against the Seahawks, it was not one of his better performances. If the former Mr. Irrelevant is still too sore to play on Sunday, the 49ers will roll with backup Mac Jones, whom they signed this offseason.
Brock Purdy has a left shoulder and toe injury that make him uncertain for Sunday’s game in New Orleans. Kyle Shanahan said the team will see how the practice week goes.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2025
If Purdy cannot play, 49ers backup QB Mac Jones would be in line to start. pic.twitter.com/7ocnuD0UYI
A huge blow to the 49ers comes in the form of tight end George Kittle, who suffered a hamstring injury during the game against the Seahawks. Kittle has now been placed on the injured reserve (IR) list, which means he is sure to miss at least the upcoming four games of the season.
Sources: 49ers are placing Pro Bowl TE George Kittle on injured reserve, meaning he now will miss at least the next four games. Kittle injured his hamstring during Sunday’s win over Seattle and now will miss games at New Orleans, vs. Atlanta, Jacksonville and at the Rams. pic.twitter.com/f73zf9tjcZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2025
As per reports, he could miss up to 5 games as well, which is a big concern to the AFC West franchise, especially considering their WR1 Brandon Aiyuk is still recovering from the ACL and MCL injury he suffered last season.
For the time being, Kittle will surely miss the games against the Saints, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Rams, with the possibility that he may be ruled out against the Buccaneers in week 6.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings has been injury prone early this season. The wideout was dealing with a calf injury throughout training camp.
Currently, Jennings is recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in last week’s game, but it is not thought to be anything serious. Listed as day-to-day, Jennings should be able to step onto the field for the 49ers game against the Saints.
Additional scans today on Jauan Jennings’ shoulder came back clean, and the 49ers wide receiver avoided any significant injury, per source. Jennings now will be considered day to day, and has a chance to play Sunday at New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/QAqvPVY3L9
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2025
Something one doesn’t see very often in the NFL is a team waiving its starting kicker just one game into the new season. The 49ers did just that as they released kicker Jake Moody after just two seasons.
Moody was a former third-round draft pick of the 49ers from the 2023 draft class. Drafting him so high placed a lot of expectations on the youngster, ones that he couldn’t fulfil to the team’s liking.
During Moody’s rookie season, he missed 4 field goals and an extra point attempt, but last season was worse as he ended up missing 10 of his 34 field goal attempts. To make matters worse, Moody missed 2 of his 3 field goal attempts last week, a short 27-yarder and a 36-yarder that ended up getting blocked.
As a replacement for Moody, San Francisco is now signing former Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro. The 29-year-old kicker is considered one of the best in the league, boasting a career field goal percentage of 88.1%.
49ers officially are signing veteran kicker Eddy Pineiro to their active roster on a one-year deal, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. https://t.co/t1eCSJHdzS
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2025
The San Francisco 49ers are in a precarious situation this season. In spite of having the easiest strength of schedule in the entire league, injury concerns keep playing a pivotal role on their roster. There is still no definite timeline on when Aiyuk will return, and now that Kittle is out for the near future, other players on the team will have to step up to ensure a strong passage of play over the next few weeks.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
nfl I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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