SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The decision by the San Francisco 49ers to draft De'Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second round in April raised some eyebrows with more accomplished college receivers still on the board.
The way Stribling has performed so far in practice and his exhibition debut have quieted those criticisms for now. Stribling caught seven passes for 63 yards in less than one half on Thursday night against Tennessee, outplaying the top receiver taken in this year's draft in No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate.
Stribling is well aware of the five receivers drafted ahead of him, but is more focused on his own play so far this summer as he hopes to play a big role for the 49ers as a rookie.
“I know who was taken ahead of me, but I just see it as this is my journey,” Stribling said after the game. “My journey is my journey. I’m not going to look at someone else’s journey, Because once I do that, I’m not going to be grateful or happy of where I’m at. So I’m just making the most out of my opportunities and what’s given to me.”
Stribling caught a pass on his first snap in an exhibition game with a 6-yarder from Kurtis Rourke. He couldn't catch a slightly off-target throw on third down later in that drive and also lost 5 yards on a pop pass.
But he took over the game from there, catching all five targets on his final two drives, including an impressive contested catch on a 32-yard deep pass down the sideline and an 11-yard catch-and-run on third-and-6 when he broke a tackle and managed to stay inbounds to help set up a touchdown.
“I was just a little excited, a little nervous,” Stribling said. “But kind of getting the first hit out the way, the first catch out the way, you start getting into a groove and everything starts rolling.”
Stribling spent his first two seasons in college at Washington State and the next two at Oklahoma State before joining Ole Miss last season. He had 55 catches for 811 yards and six TDs to help the Rebels reach the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
But the Niners thought highly enough of him to draft him 33rd overall. Stribling has shown a good ability in practice to create separation with his hands to go along with his impressive speed.
“I call him the ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’ because he’s so fast,” backup quarterback Mac Jones said. “But he definitely is fast, but some guys, they can be really quick, but they’re not as strong, so he has both. I don’t have a comp for him yet, but I think he’ll be a really good player. ... Just the way he got to the ball when it’s in the air was impressive. He has like a second gear when the ball’s in the air. Some guys are really fast, but when the ball goes up and your eyes go up, you slow down, but he doesn’t do that, so it’s pretty impressive.”
Stribling has been one of the bright spots early in training camp for San Francisco, making big plays almost every day and building chemistry with his quarterbacks, including starter Brock Purdy.
Stribling got right to work after being drafted and even joined Purdy and Jones in Tennessee during the break before training camp to get up to speed and earn trust from his new quarterbacks.
The Niners are hoping to get an immediate contribution from Stribling, especially after losing projected starter Ricky Pearsall to season-ending knee surgery early in training camp.
San Francisco signed Mike Evans in free agency in March and brought back Deebo Samuel for a second stint early in camp, but the hope is that Stribling will be able to step right into the rotation.
He has shown signs in training camp of being able to do that even though he missed a couple of practices with a tight hamstring.
“He’s handling it well," coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. "It was tough when he got hurt. He missed that week. Now he’s been back for a week. Hopefully he can string together two more of these weeks, because he’s going about it the right way and as long as he gets those reps and continues to do what he’s been doing, he should be ready for the season.”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
De'Zhaun Stribling (15) catches a pass from Kurtis Rourke (14) in the first half as the San Francisco 49ers played the Tennessee Titans in a preseason game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
De'Zhaun Stribling (15) pushes for a few extra yards after a reception in the first half as the San Francisco 49ers played the Tennessee Titans in a preseason game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver De'zhaun Stribling, right, catches a pass against Tennessee Titans defensive back Cor'Dale Flott during the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.
The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days. Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said were “completely misrepresented.”
Extended deployments of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised concerns about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment. While renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have calmed in recent weeks, the Navy has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the war.
Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. can maintain the blockade “indefinitely.”
The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, a Navy statement said. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.
A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive ship details, confirmed that the Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans and puts the carrier on a course to head into the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Washington would replace the Lincoln as one of the two aircraft carriers now stationed in the Middle East.
The move would leave the waters of the Pacific without a U.S. carrier presence for an unknown period of time. The Trump administration sees China, the dominant power in the region, as “a settled force” that only needs to be deterred from dominating the U.S. or its allies and not the top global adversary that it was under the Biden administration.
The Lincoln originally deployed Nov. 21 from San Diego, and it arrived in the Middle East in January, ahead of the launch of the Iran war on Feb. 28. The Navy conceded that the conflict created a “highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions.” That, in turn, led to shortages and loss of mail aboard the aircraft carrier, the Navy said in a statement.
“Leadership prioritized mission-critical supplies: first food, then hygiene items, then mail,” the statement said, before assuring that sailors aboard the ship now have access to clean water and “healthy meal options.”
Democratic lawmakers are calling for investigations, more information and greater visibility into conditions aboard the ship, which was originally set to return home in May.
“The Lincoln’s prolonged deployment is especially significant because it is occurring in the context of continuing military operations against Iran and the possibility that substantial US naval forces will be required in the region for an extended period,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Navy leadership asking for a response to several questions.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran, said on social media that he is looking to take a bipartisan delegation on an official oversight visit to the ship and that the way sailors are being treated is “not just disgusting; it’s dangerous.”
Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama that he wants the Lincoln's sailors home and crews rotated as quickly as possible but pushed back against reports of problems aboard.
“We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls — it’s incredible.”
Navy leaders, including acting Secretary Hung Cao, last week held a tense town hall for families of troops aboard the USS Lincoln, at which the commanders of the Navy’s air and surface forces promised to do everything they could to relieve the aircraft carrier. MS NOW reported earlier on the meeting.
When reports of food shortages aboard the ship first surfaced in April, the Navy pushed back, calling those reports “false.”
Reports have since emerged that sailors on the Lincoln are struggling with mental health concerns. The Navy said in its statement that it has “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship,” but officials declined to provide data, citing operational security and patient privacy concerns.
The Navy official said that a sailor aboard the Lincoln went overboard in early August but that the person was quickly recovered, treated by the ship’s medical department and transferred off ship for follow-on care. The official would not say if it was being considered a suicide attempt.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, pushed back on reports about poor conditions.
“The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended,” the command said on social media.
Other carriers also have had long runs that have raised concerns about morale. The USS Gerald R. Ford returned home in mid-May after an 11-month deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War, during which it supported the U.S. war with Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
During its deployment, the Ford experienced a fire in a laundry space that forced the carrier to turn around and return to the Mediterranean Sea for repairs and left hundreds of sailors without places to sleep.
Concerns about the demands of battle and the dangers of overextending ships and their crew predate the Iran war, with a number of mishaps on ships battling Houthi rebels in Yemen in 2024 and 2025, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on a longer-than-expected deployment.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that the USS Abraham Lincoln has spent more than 240 days of uninterrupted time at sea and its overall deployment has exceeded 260 days.
FILE - The USS George Washington aircraft carrier is pictured off the coast of Argentina, May 30, 2024.(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File)
