San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. suffered a brutal break on Saturday night–literally.
The 49ers announced this afternoon that Watkins broke his foot during last night’s preseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. As a result, he’ll be out six-to-eight weeks.
According to San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, Watkins suffered the injury early in the game and attempted to play through it. Not surprising, considering the former UAB star is trying to make the roster as an undrafted free agent.
#49ers WR Austin Watkins Jr. suffered a broken foot in last night’s game. He’s expected to be out 6-8 weeks. Shanahan said they think he did it early in the game and tried to play through it. Injury was discovered after the game.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) August 15, 2021
A star at UAB, Watkins was a second-team All-Conference USA selection in 2019, catching 57 passes for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns.
He followed that up with 34 receptions, 468 yards and three touchdowns in 2020, earning first-team All-Conference honors in a COVID-shortened season.
This new injury puts a serious crimp in Watkins’ plans to break in at the NFL level, but hopefully he’ll be able to bounce back after recovering.
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