Following the rash of injuries that plagued the San Francisco 49ers last season, the last things fans likely wanted to hear was that another key offensive starter had suffered an injury so close to the start of the regular season.
Between quarterback Brock Purdy, running backs Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, and Jordan Mason, wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall, tight end George Kittle, and offensive linemen Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jon Feliciano, 49ers offensive players missed a combined 84 games last season.
Heading into this year, most of San Francisco’s injuries have been to second- and third-stringers — backup RBs Ameer Abdullah, Jordan James, and depth WRs Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, Equanimeous St. Brown — but the team suffered a concerning injury setback when starting right guard Dominick Puni left Saturday’s 22-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders with an apparent knee injury.
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Dominick Puni –
Hard to tell if it was his right or left knee.
Has his left leg rolled up on, but right knee also in the mess.
Hopefully it’s nothing serious.
pic.twitter.com/qj2XfAk9i9— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) August 16, 2025
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49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that Puni is expected to miss some significant time.
“Kyle Shanahan said 49ers RG Dominick Puni will be out ‘a few weeks’ with a possible posterior-cruciate ligament injury,” Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote on X.
The typical recovery timeline for a sprained PCL ranges from a few weeks for Grade 1 sprains to a few months for Grade 3 sprains.
According to Dr. Jeff Mueller, fantasy football injury expert for DD Fantasy Football, Puni potentially could be ready for the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7, stating “If it’s mild, still a chance he could be active week 1.”
Shanahan intimated the same sentiment, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Shanahan said Puni has a chance to play in the regular-season opener at Seattle on Sept. 7,” Branch wrote.
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Puni, a third-round pick of the 49ers last year, played a key role for the team as a rookie.
The 25-year-old played a team-high 1,078 offensive snaps, allowing just three sacks, along with 35 pressures and 32 hurries, according to Pro Football Focus.
He was an unexpected upgrade on the right side of the offensive line taking over the starting position from Spencer Burford, who surrendered five sacks, 33 pressures, and 26 hurries on 820 offensive snaps the previous season while splitting time with Feliciano, who played 244 offensive snaps, and allowed just 15 pressured and zero sacks. He’s since retired.
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