The 49ers lost more than the game on Sunday night.
All-Pro offensive tackle Trent Williams left the 11-10 loss to the Broncos with what head coach Kyle Shanahan said during his postgame session is most likely a high ankle sprain. He also said that he believes linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s injury is an MCL issue in his knee.
It is not uncommon for a high ankle sprain to keep a player out for more than a month. Al-Shaair’s timeline is more ambiguous as we don’t exactly know the extent to which his knee is injured.
Williams is arguably the best left tackle in football, and San Francisco’s pass protection was significantly worse when backup Jaylon Moore took over in the second half. Moore was so bad, in fact, that he was soon replaced by Colton McKivitz.
Williams sustained the injury on the same play that Jimmy Garoppolo ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The cart was initially brought out for Williams but he left the field under his own power.