SANTA CLARA — San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges exited Thursday night's win over the Los Angeles Rams with a knee injury, and head coach Kyle Shanahan delivered an ominous initial assessment afterward.
"It wasn't good. It's not an ACL, it's the MCL, I believe, but there's some issues with it that we've got to see how it is. There's a little more information to it, but we don't know yet," Shanahan said.
The 49ers likely won't know the full extent of the injury until they return from Australia and can put Tonges through a full battery of tests. Shanahan's tone suggested the medical staff believes the 27-year-old will miss significant time.
Tonges has been with San Francisco since 2023, spending his first year on the practice squad and playing mostly special teams in 2024. He took on a much larger offensive role in 2025 due to injuries to George Kittle, catching 34 passes for 293 yards and five touchdowns, and signed a two-year, $8 million contract this offseason.