SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers will be without two starting linemen -- one on each side of the ball -- because of hamstring injuries for at least the next couple of weeks, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
"[Center] Jake Brendel has a hamstring," Shanahan said. "He's expected to miss a couple of weeks and also, we found out that [defensive end Bryce] Huff also has a hamstring. He will also be in that same boat with possibly a couple of weeks."
On Monday, Shanahan said he was told that Huff injured the hamstring on one of the last two defensive plays of the game. The injury follows one of Huff's best performances since arriving to San Francisco via trade in the offseason.
Huff had five tackles, a sack, five pressures and a forced fumble against the Atlanta Falcons and has been the Niners' top pass-rushing threat since end Nick Bosa was lost for the season to a torn right ACL in Week 3.
Without Bosa, Huff and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring/knee), the Niners are down to Sam Okuayinonu, Mykel Williams and Trevis Gipson as the only healthy defensive ends on the roster. Robert Beal Jr. and William Bradley-King are short-term options to be elevated from the practice squad, but it's also reasonable to think the Niners will continue considering trade options for help ahead of the Nov. 4 deadline.
"I don't think it changes the urgency of it," Shanahan said. "It definitely sucks losing Huff, but it is a hamstring and hopefully it won't be longer than two weeks, so you know that he is coming back and sooner than later. But [the personnel department] has been looking into that stuff all the time for the last few weeks and I'm sure they'll continue over the next couple of weeks."
Brendel's hamstring strain happened midway through the second quarter on a Brian Robinson Jr. run up the middle. After staying on the field as the training and medical staffs tended to him, Brendel went to the medical tent and was ruled out almost immediately. After the game, Shanahan indicated Brendel would sit out some time, but Huff's injury was not yet known at that point.
Brendel has been a mainstay on the Niners' offensive line, starting 58 consecutive games, including Sunday night. Veteran Matt Hennessy, a former Falcon, replaced Brendel in that game and will continue in that role until Brendel returns.
Shanahan said Hennessy "wasn't perfect" in handling the offensive line communications but he "did very well." Quarterback Mac Jones said he didn't find it more challenging to work with Hennessy after playing with Brendel in his first four starts of the season.
"I have a lot of trust in Matt because we had gotten a lot of reps [in camp]," Jones said. "It was funny we were talking this week about, I was like, 'It's your revenge week this week' because he was in Atlanta. Then sure enough early in the game, he is like, 'All right, here we go.' And I was like, 'Revenge week.' He did awesome. He was cool as a cucumber and just went out there and did his job."
Cornerback Renardo Green was the other Niner to leave Sunday night's game and not return after he suffered a toe injury. Shanahan said Green would be evaluated day-to-day this week. Darrell Luter Jr. stepped in for Green against the Falcons with Shanahan saying he thought Luter "had a big impact in that game."
Elsewhere on the injury report, Shanahan said quarterback Brock Purdy (right big toe) and receiver Ricky Pearsall (right knee) also will be evaluated this week. Shanahan offered no certainty on either player returning Sunday against the Houston Texans. When asked whether it would be "a reach" to say Purdy is on track to start this week, Shanahan said, "Yeah, I would say that is. No one said that."
Shanahan added that offensive lineman Spencer Burford, who has sat out the past five games because of a knee injury, could open his 21-day practice window this week.