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Brandin Cooks signs with 49ers as wide receiver injuries force urgent move

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Brandin Cooks signs with 49ers as wide receiver injuries force urgent move

The San Francisco 49ers are signing veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, to reinforce their ailing wide receiving core.

Cooks, entering his 13th NFL season, is joining the Niners’ practice squad to get him conditioned but is expected to be called up to the 53-man roster for games, per Schefter. The need arose for a stabilizing presence on offense as injuries have decimated San Francisco’s receivers’ room just two weeks into the season.

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Ricky Pearsall underwent season-ending surgery to repair the PCL in his right knee in August; Christian Kirk joined him on injured reserve (IR) soon after with a calf strain, and the 49ers’ depth has only gotten thinner since. Tight end Jake Tonges tore his ACL in Week 1. Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling looked prime for a breakout year, but he’s out at least 10 weeks after a misstep on a route caused a sprain of his left ankle deltoid ligament, which required surgery. In Week 2, Demarcus Robinson was carted off the field after rolling his ankle while trying to get up from the turf after a 20-yard catch. He was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss three to six weeks.

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Notable injuries throughout the 2026 NFL season

De’Zhaun Stribling, SF (ankle)

De’Zhaun Stribling of the San Francisco 49ers is attended to by trainers after an injury in the second quarter of the NFL football game against Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia.

(Robert Cianflone, Getty Images)

The injury bug hasn’t avoided Mike Evans, either; he’s listed as questionable as he manages a hip injury this week. That left Deebo Samuel, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and KhaDarel Hodge as the 49ers’ available receivers against the Arizona Cardinals.

“We expect those guys to be up and everyone’s got to get more involved,” head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters. “But, I know our guys, (president of football operations and general manager) John (Lynch) and his group, are working on all possibilities, looking at everything that’s out there and our options here for this week and going forward.”

That’s where Cooks comes in.

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Don’t expect the 32-year-old to put up 1,000 yards as he did regularly in his prime, but he’s shown throughout his career that he can be a productive piece on teams with Super Bowl aspirations, such as the New England Patriots in 2017 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. Cooks finished last season with the Buffalo Bills after requesting to be released by the New Orleans Saints, but was involved in a major play that ultimately ended their playoff run.

In overtime of a divisional round game against the Denver Broncos, Cooks came down with a deep pass from Josh Allen, but Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian wrestled the ball from him as he hit the ground and it was ultimately ruled an interception. Denver went on to win the game and advanced to the AFC championship game while Buffalo never touched the ball again.

Cooks has 9,811 career receiving yards, just under 200 yards from reaching 10,000.

49ers WR depth chart

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Brandon Aiyuk remains on the team’s reserve/left squad list, and the team has no plans to bring him to the active roster.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brandin Cooks signs with 49ers as wide receiver injuries force urgent move

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