Fans can't fathom what 49ers have endured since Dre Greenlaw's injury

If 2024 has felt 'off' for the 49ers, this timeline of events since Dre Greenlaw's Achilles tear last February pretty much sums up why.

The San Francisco 49ers may just want to wipe 2024 from their memory.

With a handful of weeks remaining in the regular season, the Niners are on the cusp of thinking about 2025 and beyond, decreasing their hopes for an increasingly unlikely playoff berth and focusing more on taking what'll be a much-needed break from what's been a taxing 2024 campaign.

"Taxing" might be an understatement.

Sure, every team deals with adversity any given season, and San Francisco is no exception. But head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad seems to have been dealt a whole heck of a lot more than reasonably expected.

And it all seemed to start with star linebacker Dre Greenlaw's Achilles tear right in the middle of Super Bowl LVIII against the eventual-champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Ever since, things simply haven't "felt right" with the 49ers, who now find themselves wallowing in last place within the NFC West despite aspirations of getting back to the Super Bowl (and winning it this time).

If you want a timeline-style list of what Shanahan and Co. have had to endure since that turning-point moment last February, here you go.

Read at your own risk.

49ers' timeline of adversity since Dre Greenlaw's Achilles tear

If one had to pinpoint the turning point of Super Bowl LVIII, it'd be Greenlaw's devastating non-contact injury. Prior to that, the Niners were largely containing quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

After Greenlaw's departure, the tables turned. And San Francisco's downfall from being a top league contender only snowballed from there.

• Feb. 11 (Super Bowl): Greenlaw suffers torn Achilles, which forces LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to primarily cover Kelce. Chiefs overcome 10-point deficit to beat 49ers in overtime.
• March 13: Niners try to sign veteran LB Eric Kendricks to replace Greenlaw, but Kendricks rebuffs San Francisco at the last minute to sign with the Cowboys instead. 49ers turn to LB De'Vondre Campbell as a contingency plan, and he has mostly been a liability.
• April - August: WR Brandon Aiyuk contract-extension/trade-rumor drama begins and heightens from the NFL Draft until finally being extended toward the end of training camp.
• July - August: OT Trent Williams holds out of training camp while seeking a new contract.
• Aug. 31: Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall is shot in an attempted robbery in San Francisco.
• September - October: All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey misses first eight games of the season tendinitis in both Achilles.
• Sept. 22: Pro Bowl DT Javon Hargrave suffers season-ending triceps tear.
• Oct. 6: All-Pro S Talanoa Hufanga suffers a likely season-ending wrist injury after appearing in only two games.
• Oct. 20: Aiyuk suffers a season-ending ACL and MCL tear in loss to Kansas City.
• Oct. 29: CB Charvarius Ward announces the passing of his one-year-old daughter from medical complications. Ward misses the next three games while on bereavement.
• Nov. 17: All-Pro DE Nick Bosa re-aggravates hip/oblique injury versus Seahawks, which forces him to miss multiple games. Seattle stages improbable come-from-behind victory after Bosa's in-game exit.
• Nov. 24: Pro Bowl QB Brock Purdy misses crucial Week 12 game versus the Packers with a shoulder injury, forcing Brandon Allen in under center during another 49ers loss.
• Dec. 1: McCaffrey suffers a likely season-ending PCL injury against Bills. McCaffrey appeared in only four games this season.
• Dec. 2: Williams announces the passing of his newborn son back on Nov. 24, while a twin died earlier during pregnancy. Williams had missed the previous two games because of an ankle injury.

Again, teams deal with adversity all the time, and the entirety of the 49ers' woes in 2024 can't be blamed solely on the above circumstances and setbacks.

But, wow. That'd be a lot for any squad to overcome no matter what. And it might help shed light on why the Niners may want to simply turn the page on what's been an extremely challenging year.

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