The 49ers won’t have defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw on Sunday against the Colts, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday indicated the knee injury keeping Kinlaw out Sunday could become a longer term problem.
Kinlaw has been working through a knee issue since training camp, but he only missed the season opener. He came out of the bye week though as a non-participant all week in the lead-up to Week 7, and now he could be headed to injured reserve.
“Yes, definitely,” Shanahan said about Kinlaw’s potential placement on IR. “Yeah. It’s something we’re worried about and concerned about. It’s something we’ll probably decide here in the next week.”
Despite the knee injury, Kinlaw had played at least 55 percent of the defensive snaps along with some special teams contributions in the four games he suited up for. This could be a scenario where the 49ers are aiming to get him healthier by giving him a longer absence instead of managing the knee injury week-to-week.
An IR stint would mean at least three games missed for the second-year defensive tackle. In 18 games, Kinlaw has 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one interception.
