The San Francisco 49ers could have one of the best offenses in the NFL on paper next season, but that claim comes with one huge asterisk: injuries.
That’s true for every team, but it’s especially true for San Francisco. Basically every single one of the skill players on offense is either on the older side, has an extensive injury history, or both.
Christian McCaffrey was one of the best running backs in the NFL last season and was remarkably durable, even though San Francisco gave him more touches than any other player in the league, but he played in only four games in 2024 and dealt with a number of ailments earlier in his career with the Carolina Panthers.
George Kittle has usually had pretty good luck with injuries in his career, but he tore his Achilles in the playoffs and his status for the start of next season is unclear. One hopes he will be the same guy when he returns, but you never know how a player will look after sustaining a major injury like that later in his career.
Trent Williams has dealt with injuries in recent years and in his late-30s, so it wouldn’t shock anyone if he missed time. When he’s out, the offense usually performs much worse, so he could be the most important linchpin of them all even if he’s not a skill player.
Ricky Pearsall is still young, but he’s had terrible injury luck so far in his career. He’s proven he can be really good when he’s healthy and on the field, but whether he can start all 17 games in a season remains to be seen.
Quarterback Brock Purdy missed half of last season, and he’s been fairly durable in his career, but he’s dealt with various ailments, so the Niners may have to turn to Mac Jones again if he gets hurt.
Mike Evans was the Niners' big offseason addition and is going to be in the Hall of Fame someday, but his hamstring issues last season are going to have 49ers fans holding their breath and almost waiting for him to go down.
Maybe that’s a pessimistic outlook, but one can’t blame fans for expecting a rash of injuries when that’s been the experience for so many years. One hopes the 49ers finally get lucky on the injury front, but the offense feels a bit like a house of cards.
Together, they will stand tall, but if you remove just one of those cards, the whole thing could come tumbling down, and the Niners could look like a very pedestrian offense rather than the high-powered one many think they’ll be.
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