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Sports · Football (NFL) · published 2026-08-30 · via The Athletic

Shanahan backs Collins despite slow preseason return from shoulder surgery

Image via The Athletic
Image via The Athletic

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins has struggled in training camp and preseason games while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but coach Kyle Shanahan insists the slow start is not his fault. Collins played into the third quarter of Thursday's preseason finale against the Raiders to get extra reps. Shanahan believes Collins will be ready for the season opener after two practices before the team travels to Australia.

Expanded Detail

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Collins' rookie season followed a similar arc — a calf injury delayed his start, but he finished strong with a goal-line forced fumble against the Rams that teammate Fred Warner called one of the best plays he'd seen. He logged one start, 17 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles across 16 games

Expanded detail and Context are AI-generated analysis; the linked article remains the authoritative source.
Read the full article at The Athletic →
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This summary is Al-enhanced to contain extended analysis and broader social context. The original is {NAME); the linked article is the authoritative source. Original headline: “49ers’ Alfred Collins is behind. Kyle Shanahan still expects him to be ready for Week 1.” Browse more stories.