The San Francisco 49ers were hoping they could potentially get back another wide receiver in rookie Jordan Watkins this week, but the latest injury report leading into Week 3's contest against the Arizona Cardinals throws that into question as he is dealing with a calf injury.
Rookie WR Jordan Watkins a new addition to the injury report with a calf injury. He had returned to practice from a high ankle sprain two weeks ago. https://t.co/iOJVGJkW9d
— Noah Furtado (@_noahfurtado) September 18, 2025
Watkins was able to practice in full on Wednesday, but he was listed as a limited participant in practice on Thursday with the calf injury. He could still potentially play, but the Niners may want to take it easy with him
Back during the preseason, Watkins suffered a high-ankle sprain after the team's first exhibition game which added to the bevy of wide receiver injuries the team had to deal with prior to the regular season and opened the door to more fringe players.
Watkins was not the only wide receiver on San Francisco's injury report as Jauan Jennings did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday with ankle and shoulder issues.
That means San Francisco could be in a tough spot when it comes to its wide receivers when it faces off against the Cardinals. If Watkins and Jennings are both unable to go, that would mean the 49ers would most likely have to go with Ricky Pearsall and Kendrick Bourne, the latter who was signed less than two weeks ago, as their starting wide receivers.
Watkins' delayed start to the season is unfortunate because he did some good things in training camp and looked solid in preseason action as he hauled in a 50-yard catch from quarterback Mac Jones.
San Francisco took the former Ole Miss receiver in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. It did not seem like he would play a major role early on, but with all of the issues the Niners have had at wide receiver with injuries and suspensions, it seemed like Watkins would be thrown into a bigger role than anticipated, even though head coach Kyle Shanahan demands a lot of rookie wide receivers.
Maybe Watkins' calf issue is not major and he will be able to suit up on Sunday, but even if he does, the 49ers will surely want to ease him into things if possible.
Still, it would be nice for the rookie to get out there and get his first regular-season NFL action.