SF 49ers: 5 biggest surprises early in 2020 so far

Surprise No. 5: How ravaged the SF 49ers have been by injuries

The proverbial elephant in the room for San Francisco this season has been just how decimated the team has been by injuries. True, this was the case last year. But 2019’s setbacks pale in comparison to what Kyle Shanahan and Co. have dealt with this season.

Just to highlight the injuries, here’s the SF 49ers’ reserve list through four weeks so far:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 10/5/2020.

Those are just the players who are on injured reserve, and it doesn’t include the Niners missing second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel for three games after he suffered a fractured foot this offseason. Nor does the list include quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 against the New York Jets and hasn’t taken the field since.

Shanahan’s rushing attack, the primary offensive means, has also been without runners Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert for multiple games, as they’ve both dealt with knee injuries. Tight end George Kittle has just two games played this season, too, surely impacting the Niners offense. No. 2 tight end Jordan Reed is out for a while with a knee injury.

But the biggest losses are arguably those of edge rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, the former being out for the season, while the latter is out indefinitely with a back injury. To date, San Francisco has generated only eight sacks, tied for 12th fewest in the NFL over four weeks.

All teams are built to withstand some level of injuries. But for the Niners, 2020 is proving to be a little too much to bear. The offense has been disjointed, while the defense no longer has the same prowess it boasted a year ago at this time.