49ers Lose Starting D-Lineman to Season-Ending Knee Injury Hours Before NFL's First-Ever Australia Game
Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon in a Tuesday practice at Melbourne's AAMI Park, leaving Kyle Shanahan's already-thin defensive line thinner as San Francisco preps to face the Rams in the league's historic Down Under opener.
Hours before the NFL's first-ever regular-season game on Australian soil, the San Francisco 49ers lost a starting defensive lineman for the year. Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Wednesday that defensive tackle Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon during a Tuesday practice at AAMI Park in Melbourne, an injury that will require surgery and end his 2026 season before it starts.
Collins, a second-round pick out of Texas in 2025, had emerged as a starter next to Osa Odighizuwa on San Francisco's defensive front. According to ESPN, the injury happened just before the team moved into 11-on-11 drills, and Shanahan did not mince words about the timing.
"THAT WAS A BIG LOSS. WE'VE LOST TWO D-LINEMEN PRETTY MUCH FOR THE YEAR AFTER CUTS AND BEFORE THE FIRST GAME." — 49ERS COACH KYLE SHANAHAN
A Short-Handed Line, Down Under
The setback leaves San Francisco thin up front just as it prepares for the NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Australia. Per NBC Sports Bay Area, only C.J. West and rookie Gracen Halton remain as healthy, roster-ready options to start alongside Odighizuwa, with undrafted rookie James Thompson Jr. — who was limited earlier in the week with a hamstring issue — also in the mix. Practice-squad tackles Sebastian Valdez and Kevin Givens are among the emergency options the Niners could elevate before kickoff.
The injury is the latest blow to a 49ers defensive front that has already been stretched by roster cuts, and it comes as San Francisco finishes an unusual travel week: a 15-hour flight across the Pacific to open the season against a division rival on the other side of the world.
What's Next
San Francisco faces the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with kickoff set for 5:35 p.m. PT (Friday morning local time), streaming live on Netflix. It's the marquee showcase of the NFL's international push and a rematch of two NFC West rivals — and the Niners will now be doing it without one of their projected defensive-line starters.
Collins will undergo surgery on the torn tendon and begin a lengthy rehab, with a return targeted for the 2027 offseason. For now, San Francisco's coaching staff has one more day to settle on a rotation before the opening whistle in Melbourne.