Dominick

Puni

Puni disengaged from contact, moving laterally, before landing on his backside and grabbing at his knee. He remained down after the play before being taken to the sideline for further examination. He was able to return a few plays later and appears to be okay.

Puni suffered a PCL sprain in San Francisco’s second preseason game. The 49ers signed G Michael Dunn on Wednesday, so it’s clear that they’re at least making sure they can get through their third preseason game with some healthy guards as Ben Bartch (elbow) also is currently shelved. If Puni does miss time, Shanahan mentioned Spencer Burford as a potential fill-in at guard.

Puni was almost immediately ruled out following a field goal attempt Saturday but was later seen on the sidelines in street clothes, a welcomed development for fans and fantasy managers invested in the offensive skill position players alike. Puni enters 2025 as a key piece on the interior offensive line for a 49ers team eyeing a bounce-back after a disappointing 2024 season. That does place Puni’s availability for Week 1 in question but it appears as if he avoided a major knee injury.

Puni is in line to start at right guard for a team looking to return to the top five in scoring after a down 2024 regular season. He was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the contest, making his situation worth monitoring during the coming weeks.

The rookie guard played every snap in Week 12’s loss to the Packers, but apparently something popped up. He’d be a huge loss for the 49ers. Deommodore Lenoir (knee) is also getting an MRI for the 49ers after playing 93 percent of the snaps. This team just can’t buy a health-based break this year.

The injury did not appear to be serious and has not yet been disclosed. Puni was able to walk off the field under his own power and the broadcast indicated he has a chance to return.

The 49ers sent picks 94 and 132 to the Eagles for a chance to draft Puni (6'5/303). The lynchpin of a Jayhawks offensive line that averaged 206 rushing yards per game in 2023, which was the fourth-highest mark in the Power Five, Puni paced the OL with a team-low 1.3% pressure rate while finishing his two-year Kansas tenure, allowing zero sacks and just one QB hit in 1,593 snaps…and he did it at two different positions. NFL Next Gen Stats credits Puni with having the fifth-highest production score of the 2024 guard group. Puni is pegged for guard duty at the next level to take advantage of his outstanding lateral agility and pass protection skills. While technically sound in the run game, earning a solid 72.6 run grade with a 1.4% blown run block rate last year, he doesn’t profile as a man-moving road grader who creates havoc in his wake. Puni’s mirroring skills, positional adaptability, and clean run-blocking fits are positive attributes that could help him quickly establish value in the passing-oriented NFL.