The San Francisco 49ers have plenty of questions heading into the 2025 season but the biggest one may be the current state of the wide receiver room.
The 49ers receiving core took a hit when they traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders last spring and the hits have kept coming as the team has reported for training camp. With Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from ACL and MCL injuries, Demarcus Robinson facing a three-game suspension and Jauan Jennings seeking a new contract, things were dicey before Ricky Pearsall wound up on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp.
With everything going on, the 49ers receiving corps is anything but stable and it may have gotten worse after a key injury during training camp.
49ers OTA Standout Jacob Cowing Suffers Injury During Training Camp Practice
According to Rob Lowder of the Striking Gold podcast, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that wide receiver Jacob Cowing pulled his hamstring while running routes at the start of Wednesday’s practice. Shanahan also noted it’s unclear how serious the injury is but there is a chance they sign another receiver.
Kyle Shanahan said that WR Jacob Cowing pulled his hamstring while running routes on air at the start of today's practice. It's unclear how serious the injury is, but a thin #49ers receiving corps got thinner. Shanahan said there's a chance they sign another receiver.
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) July 23, 2025
Cowing had a non-descript rookie season for the 49ers, catching four passes for 80 scoreless yards as a fourth-round pick out of UTEP. But the 24-year-old was one of the players that stood out to Shanahan during the offseason program declaring his performance as “one of the best…in terms of the most improved and the most prepared.”
Shanahan on Jacob Cowing:
— Kyle Posey (@KP_Show) July 23, 2025
"I thought Jake had 1 of the best OTAs out of anybody on our team, in terms of the most improved and the most prepared."
Naturally, the most 49ers thing possible happened. Cowing pulled his hamstring...while running routes on air. Tough to make that up
With the 49ers receiver room in flux, it wasn’t out of the question for Cowing to climb the depth chart and seize a larger role in training camp. But with his injury, it leaves San Francisco scrambling.
The 49ers hosted six receivers for a tryout earlier this week although the offense could be in trouble if any of those names are in starting roles come Week 1. San Francisco could also hope for a quicker recovery by Aiyuk or the NFL to show some leniency on Robinson, who has yet to be officially suspended for his offseason arrest.
Either way, Cowing’s injury is an unwanted development for one of the biggest question marks on the team and could be a long-term storyline as San Francisco enters the 2025 season.