SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers’ fears about the injury to rookie defensive end Mykel Williams were confirmed Monday afternoon when a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Williams tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
After the Niners’ 34-24 victory against the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, coach Kyle Shanahan left little doubt about Williams’ likely diagnosis while also trying to offer a hint of optimism that further testing would reveal better than expected news in a brief chat with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
“He’s just down and you never know,” Shanahan said after the game. “Hopefully, it’s not the worst, but if it is, hey that sucks for this year. But that’s all it sucks for. You’ll be back next year, and this won’t affect you at all.”
As it turned out, that’s exactly the case for Williams, who will need surgery to repair the knee and then begin a lengthy recovery process before he can return in 2026.
Williams suffered the injury with about four minutes left in the game as he pressured Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart. Williams got close to Dart, who threw incomplete to his right. But Williams’ knee buckled and he went down. His immediate reaction suggested something was seriously wrong as he grabbed for his right knee and pounded his helmet and the turf in frustration.
Although Williams was able to slowly walk off the field, Shanahan said after the game that the team was “worried” about the injury being an ACL tear though an MRI on Monday was needed to confirm it. Williams has started each of San Francisco’s first nine games, averaging 45.4 snaps per contest and posting 20 tackles and a sack while lining up on the edge on early downs and moving inside to rush the quarterback on obvious passing downs.
Williams’ ACL tear is the latest major blow to a 49ers team that has been ravaged by injuries this season with many of those ailments seeming to hit the defense in the past month or so.
With Williams out, the Niners will play their remaining eight games without either of their top two defensive ends from the start of the season, as Nick Bosa tore his right ACL in a Week 3 win against Arizona.
San Francisco also placed defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos on injured reserve Friday because of a hamstring injury and played the past two weeks without edge rusher Bryce Huff. The Niners are also without star linebacker Fred Warner (right ankle dislocation).
As it stands, the only healthy defensive ends on the 53-man roster are Sam Okuayinonu, Robert Beal Jr. and Keion White, whom the team acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots last week. The 49ers elevated end Clelin Ferrell from the practice squad to play against the Giants after signing him last week, also. Huff is expected to return for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
All of which means the Niners, who have been seeking more trade help on the defensive line even after adding White and Ferrell, will continue looking into those options leading into Tuesday’s trade deadline.
While help could be on the way, Niners left tackle Trent Williams made it clear after the win in New York that the injuries are taking their toll.
“Injuries are a part of the game and everybody deals with it, but we have been bitten particularly hard by the injury bug,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “We’ve been able to continue and fight past it. But who knows? You never know when that straw is just enough to break the camel’s back.”