Collins on IR, and the 49ers' Interior Is Thin Before Week 1

Alfred Collins is on injured reserve, and the timing is bad. The young defensive tackle was activated from the PUP list during camp — a sign the team believed he'd factor into the rotation — but he's back on IR now, and that's a meaningful swing in a short window.

The depth chart at defensive tackle lists Gracen Halton, James Thompson Jr., and C.J. West as the top three. That's not a group that inspires much confidence as a starting point, and Collins was presumably in that mix before his setback. James Thompson Jr. is also carrying an active injury designation, which doesn't help the math.

The broader defensive front has its own questions. Nick Bosa is listed active now, which is good news after months of uncertainty — the coverage on his progress has been a steady drumbeat since May. But Bosa's health doesn't solve the interior problem; those are different jobs. The DL group of Keion White, Mykel Williams, and Sebastian Valdez gives the team some options along the line, but interior depth and edge depth aren't interchangeable.

My read is that this is the quietest significant roster problem San Francisco has right now. The Aiyuk saga gets the headlines, Kittle's Achilles gets the attention, and Shanahan's concussion recovery has been its own ongoing concern. Collins going back on IR barely registered. It should register a little more.