49ers injuries: How much blame does Kyle Shanahan have?

The 49ers’ injury bug, so bad in 2020, is starting again in 2021, forcing questions about how much blame Kyle Shanahan should bear.

True, San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Justin Skule and defensive back Tarvarius Moore weren’t exactly pegged to be high-profile contributors entering 2021. Both are backups.

And now both are out with serious injuries, Skule a torn ACL and Moore a torn Achilles, both suffered during OTA practices outside Levi’s Stadium, which eventually led to the team cancelling the remainder of its OTAs and mandatory minicamp for the rest of the offseason.

It’s an ominous start to a new campaign a year after the Niners suffered more injuries than any other squad in the entire NFL.

It’s also not just hyperbole San Francisco has suffered more injuries than anyone else. Last year, Football Outsiders‘ adjusted-game lost metric had the 49ers in the worst shape, having an AGL of 166.6 whereas the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers were at 30.6.

In 2019, the Niners’ own Super Bowl year, Football Outsiders’ AGL for San Francisco was still awfully high at 95.8 — sixth worst. In 2018, the 49ers had an AGL of 105.5, which was fourth worst, and the 2017 Niners (91.6) were still in the worst 10.

Why?

It’s nearly impossible to equate this all upon head coach Kyle Shanahan. But it has been something of a theme of his teams since taking over the job in 2017, as the data shows.

Some blame could potentially be placed on the practice field where both Skule and Moore are the latest of a long line of San Francisco players who’ve suffered non-game injuries. The 49ers said goodbye to their training staff after the 2018 season, which was highlighted by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffering an ACL tear early in the year, replacing it with another staff that hasn’t exactly generated better results.

On top of that, the swarm of injuries the Niners dealt with last year convinced Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to do some serious reconsideration on targeting players with injury histories and durability concerns.

And there’s always dumb, bad luck, too.

Kyle Shanahan plays a part in 49ers’ string of injuries, but how much?

It’s one thing for San Francisco to have an outlier of an injury year like it did in 2020. But being in the top 10, in terms of injuries, over the last four years points to the unfortunate constant of Shanahan being partially to blame.

Rare are the substantiated claims Shanahan works his players too hard during practice, and there haven’t been any reports he’s taking unnecessary risks with player health.

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But one concerning report from Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool back in November of 2020 shed some light on a reason why Shanahan could bear some of the blame for his team’s injuries:

"I was talking to my friend on the Niners and they’re still wearing full pads on Thursdays. We haven’t done that since camp, so having a coach that understands how long the season is, the wear and tear on your body, it’s super helpful for getting you through the season and getting you to be able to play well in the playoffs."

If there’s any medical correlation between this and extensive risk of injuries increasing, yes, Shanahan would bear a lot more blame.

Either way, the fact we’re back discussing 49ers injury concerns a year after one of the worst injury-riddled campaigns in recent NFL history sheds light on the fact this is a problem beyond just random chance.

And that’s a cause for major concern.