Tonges to IR and Stribling out ~10 weeks thin 49ers pass-catching depth for Dolphins

SANTA CLARA - The San Francisco 49ers' Week 2 preparation at Levi's Stadium opened with a roster shuffle that reshapes how Kyle Shanahan can attack Miami on Sunday.

The club placed tight end Jake Tonges on injured reserve Wednesday after MCL surgery, ending his 2026 season, the 49ers announced. Shanahan told reporters the same day that rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling underwent ankle surgery and will miss close to 10 weeks, with an injured-reserve designation expected later in the week.

To fill the active roster spot, San Francisco promoted wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge from the practice squad and signed tight end Jack Stoll to the practice squad.

Those moves land on a receiving corps already missing Ricky Pearsall for the long haul. Mike Evans carried the Week 1 load against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne. Christian Kirk remains on the return clock - Shanahan said he believes Kirk is eligible to resume practice next week but cannot play until Week 5. The Dolphins game will not wait for either timeline.

Replacing Tonges without inventing a new offense

Tonges appeared in the opener before the MCL injury forced surgery. Losing a tight end midweek usually means more two-tight end looks for George Kittle and Luke Farrell, or fewer of those packages altogether. Stoll, a 28-year-old Nebraska product, has played 76 career games with 28 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown across stops with Philadelphia, the Giants, Miami, New Orleans and Cleveland.

He was waived by the Browns on Aug. 28. Practice-squad elevation rules still govern how quickly he can dress Sunday; the immediate job is learning San Francisco's protections and seam routes so Shanahan has a contingency if Kittle's limited Achilles work becomes a game-day issue.

Kittle was limited Wednesday with the Achilles. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was limited with a finger injury. Neither designation equals a Week 2 absence, but both sit next to the Tonges news on the same injury report, which is why Stoll's signing is more than a depth chart footnote.

Hodge as the available body, Evans as the featured one

Hodge, 31, signed to the 49ers practice squad on Aug. 31 and already appeared in the Melbourne opener. Across eight NFL seasons with the Rams, Browns, Lions, Falcons and now San Francisco, he has 67 receptions for 1,026 yards and two touchdowns in 119 games. He is not a Pearsall or Stribling clone.

He is a veteran who knows how to run the intermediate routes Shanahan still needs when the offense empties the backfield.

Asked whether the room has enough after losing two primary wideouts, Shanahan said the 49ers have enough and called the group's depth as good as any in the league. He stressed that Stribling's absence is not season-long the way Pearsall's is. "We feel good he'll get back this season," Shanahan said of the roughly 10-week window.

That still leaves September and October without the rookie who impressed enough in camp to force early snaps.

Wednesday's practice also listed Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams as rest days, with kicker Eddy Piñeiro out for illness. Those rest designations are routine for a Thursday-to-Sunday turn after Australia. The Tonges and Stribling news is not.

What Miami forces on Sunday

The Dolphins bring a different coverage problem than the Rams presented in Melbourne. San Francisco can still lean on Evans outside and in the slot - Shanahan noted how often his receivers work inside the numbers - and on McCaffrey's receiving out of the backfield if the rest day becomes a full week of work.

Without Tonges as a second tight-end threat and without Stribling as a developmental vertical piece, the early-down menu shrinks toward what Evans, Jauan Jennings (if healthy/available in the rotation), Hodge and the tight ends can create on schedule.

Shanahan's offense has survived thinner rooms before. It has not often done so in Week 2 of a home opener while still absorbing the travel hangover from an international opener. Hodge's promotion and Stoll's signing are the concrete answers on the transaction wire. Sunday against Miami will show whether the playbook answers match.

Sources

49ers.com

49erswebzone.com

49erswebzone.com