The San Francisco 49ers have been riddled with injuries during Kyle Shanahan's tenure as head coach — and it appears this season will be no different.
Tight end George Kittle played only part of San Francisco's Week 1 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks before being ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury. He was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least four games.
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More importantly, Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that QB Brock Purdy, who sustained toe and shoulder injuries in Week 1 at Seattle, is a "long shot" to play on Sunday at the New Orleans Saints and could miss multiple weeks.
The betting world took notice, as the 49ers, who had opened as 7-point favorites at BetMGM sportsbooks (and were already down to 4.5-point favorites on Wednesday afternoon off the initial Purdy injury news), were all the way down to 3-point favorites on Wednesday afternoon. This is pretty much in line with the 4.23 points against the spread value that oddsmakers had assigned as the difference between Purdy and backup Mac Jones.
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The total in the game has also dropped from 43.5 down to 40.5.
"They are playing the Saints, so his value isn't as important as if he were to miss next week against the Cardinals," Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook told Yahoo Sports.
Salmons moved the 49ers from 12-1 to 16-1 to win the Super Bowl, and while San Francisco remained the favorite in the NFC West, the 49ers moved from +125 to +140. The 49ers had the easiest schedule by opposing season win totals of any NFL team heading into the season, and face the Cardinals in Week 3 and Jaguars in Week 4, both at home.
"The line move has come in with the injury news," Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City, told Yahoo Sports. "We opened 49ers -7 on the road, and while Kittle is a key piece – the difference here between Purdy and Mac Jones is why this has adjusted. If it is Jones who gets the start, I will be curious how the market reacts."
Several other sportsbooks didn't make any moves in the futures markets (Super Bowl, NFC, NFC West) and were waiting on more news on the extent of Purdy's injury and a potential timeframe.
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