SF 49ers: 5 biggest disappointments over first half of 2020
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: All those SF 49ers injuries so far
It’s the proverbial “elephant in the room,” and one can safely wonder how much better the SF 49ers would have been this season if their roster had been fully healthy.
Just to recap, here are the players the Niners have on injured reserve or as physically unable to play halfway through 2020:
- EDGE Ezekiel Ansah
- EDGE Nick Bosa
- EDGE Dee Ford
- C Ben Garland
- WR Jalen Hurd
- RB Raheem Mostert
- LB Mark Nzeocha
- TE Jordan Reed
- CB Richard Sherman
- DE Solomon Thomas
- WR Chris Thompson
- RB Jeff Wilson
- DE Ronald Blair
- C Weston Richburg
- DL Jullian Taylor
Fifteen players right there, and the SF 49ers have already been shorthanded with wide receiver Deebo Samuel missing time, as well as safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt. Tight end George Kittle has been banged up, missing two starts, while quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s high-ankle sprain eliminated him from two starts and has surely affected his on-field abilities when he’s played since.
And after Jimmy G and Kittle’s Week 8 injuries, they’ll be close to being out for the rest of 2020.
The three-week minimum short-term nature of IR this season has helped a bit, but there’s no getting around the fact San Francisco has put more players on these injury lists than any other team in the league through eight weeks.
To make things even worse, the players on IR count for more than $48 million, per Over the Cap.