There are three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes and the San Francisco 49ers suffering a litany of injuries.
Kyle Shanahan's squad is already dealing with a major rash of injuries, which forced the head coach to deploy a good number of his starters in Week 2's preseason bout against the Las Vegas Raiders. While it's beneficial to give first-team players some reps in advance of the regular season, the numerous injury setbacks made this decision a necessity.
Before halftime in Vegas, Shanahan might already be regretting that choice.
Shorthanded 49ers already suffering brutal injuries in preseason Week 2 vs. Raiders
Injuries started to pile up early in the Niners' exhibition showdown at Allegiant Stadium.
To begin with, starting right guard Dominick Puni had his knee rolled up on a special teams play, and he was subsequently ruled out immediately after getting back to the sideline, which isn't good news. One can hope it's not a serious setback, and San Francisco is merely being precautionary.
But, to potentially lose a key starter well before Week 1 is awfully scary a thought.
Then, mere plays later, running back Patrick Taylor Jr. went down with a shoulder injury and was declared questionable to return, although that bites a little less considering he's more of a special teams ace than anything else.
However, making things much worse, undrafted rookie tailback Corey Kiner went down with an ankle injury after two rushes for 23 yard. Adding insult to injury, the promising first-year pro had to be carted off the field, which is obviously not great news.
Thankfully, the 49ers inked an old friend in veteran running back Jeff Wilson Jr. earlier this week, and Kiner's injury potentially opens a roster spot for the former to secure a roster spot.
It might not be the most ideal outcome for the Niners, though.
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