49ers Enter Cardinals Week 3-0 Chasing Perfect Start While Managing Injury Crisis
The short version
- The 49ers are 3-0 after beating the Dolphins 35-13 and host Arizona seeking an unbeaten start through four games.
- Nick Bosa may miss multiple weeks, and San Francisco is without six of nine defensive linemen from its initial 53-man roster.
- Writers Eric Branch, Ann Killion and Harrison Rich all advised caution on trading backup quarterback Mac Jones despite league-wide QB injuries.
- Returning veterans Deebo Samuel and Dre Greenlaw have shown value early, though durability questions remain.
- New defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has drawn praise for creative fronts, blitzes and coverages through two games.
San Francisco hosts Arizona on Sunday aiming to open 3-0, with Nick Bosa's status, Mac Jones trade chatter and a depleted defensive line dominating the discussion.
The San Francisco 49ers bring a 3-0 record into Sunday's home game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium, where a win would keep their unbeaten start alive. The club arrived at this point with a 35-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins on September 20 in Santa Clara. But the matchup comes with major questions hanging over the roster, and beat writers Eric Branch and Harrison Rich and columnist Ann Killion weighed in on them this week.
The biggest concern is a defense missing significant pieces. San Francisco is currently without six of the nine defensive linemen who made the initial 53-man roster. The latest blow came with word that star end Nick Bosa may be sidelined for multiple weeks. The team's run defense was already a weakness before the attrition hit, putting new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris in a difficult spot.
Despite the injuries, Morris has drawn praise for his first two games in charge. Branch credited the coordinator for varying fronts, blitz packages and coverages, noting the 49ers recorded four sacks against Miami even without a feared pass rush, with safety Marques Sigle and cornerback Upton Stout combining for 1.5 of them. Killion pointed to the season opener, when Morris seemed to anticipate the Rams' plans against Sean McVay. Rich highlighted Morris' experimental streak, including stretches of a five-man front in the first quarter against the Dolphins.
Another talking point is backup quarterback Mac Jones, whose name has surfaced in trade speculation with several starters around the league — including Caleb Williams of the Bears, Jaxson Dart of the Giants and Jayden Daniels of the Commanders — going down with injuries early in the season.
All three writers urged caution on any Jones deal. Branch argued the team's extensive injury problems make adding a healthy player or a tradeable draft pick tempting, but that dealing possibly the league's top reserve quarterback would leave San Francisco depending on starter Brock Purdy staying healthy, with third-stringer Kurtis Rourke — a 2025 seventh-round pick with no career snaps — behind him. Killion noted Jones won four of the eight games Purdy missed last season, three of them on the road, and said the price would need to be enormous. Rich suggested listening to offers but moving Jones only if a team overpays, floating a first-round pick plus a starting-caliber defender as a possible threshold.
Two returning veterans, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, have also drawn early reviews. Branch said Samuel is no longer the player from his 2021 wide-back breakout but remains a serviceable starter and one of the NFL's better kickoff returners, while Greenlaw has delivered punishing hits, though he has played more than eight games in only two of the past five seasons. Killion called both energized and impactful while warning that their age, mileage and injury histories — Greenlaw's especially — could bite as the season wears on. Rich said the front office penciled both in as starters and both have delivered, with Greenlaw comfortable next to Fred Warner and Samuel's role growing amid the injuries around him.
Quarterback play may matter more than anything given the state of the roster. Rich called Purdy the team's best and most important player, with Warner as a possible exception, and said Jones would become just as vital if forced into action.
The Cardinals visit the 49ers on Sunday, September 27 at 4:05 PM EDT at Levi's Stadium, with the game airing on FOX.
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