Barber: 49ers not unwitting victims in rash of injuries

The folks who thought Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers were a bit overrated all along — that a lot of good fortune fell at their feet en route to the Super Bowl in 2019 — now have their evidence in a 2-3 start. And those who remain loyal to the idea of Shanahan-Niners greatness have theirs, too.

The latter camp must only point to the injuries currently ravaging the 49ers. Yes, the team has been dreadful during back-to-back home losses against Philadelphia and Miami, they will say. But it’s hard to look like a contender when your starting quarterback is gimpy, your receiving corps has been as complete as the dental work of a 1950s hockey goalie and your entire cast of available cornerbacks is basically the afternoon shift at the local auto parts store.

Was this epic fail orchestrated by the 49ers brain trust, or by the frailties of the human body? Psst… the two things are more related than you might think.

Yes, the 49ers have been undone by injuries to a large degree. Injuries are the queen of spades that can be dealt to any sports team at any time. They change the outcome of big games, ruin seasons, bring down dynasties. They are both commonplace and shocking. But they are not always entirely random.

It’s time to address the 49ers’ willingness to embrace chronically injured athletes. They should put up a statue outside Levi’s Stadium, Trent Baalke holding a torch in one hand and a copy of “Gray’s Anatomy” in the other, with this message at its base: “Give us your hobbled, your sore…”

You remember Baalke, the general manager who preceded John Lynch? The man had a fetish for torn ACLs. It was an amusing quirk when the teams he built were going to Super Bowls under Jim Harbaugh. It drove 49ers fans off the wall when those teams went downhill over Baalke’s final three years here.

Shanahan and Lynch are much more popular than the lifeless Baalke ever was. But let’s be perfectly honest. They, too, have put a lot of eggs in a very fragile basket.

Start with Nick Bosa, the brilliant young defensive end who contributed mightily to last year’s conference championship. Bosa tore his ACL in the first game of 2020, and the 49ers are still suffering for it. Without Bosa, and D-tackle DeForest Buckner, whom Shanahan and Lynch traded to Indianapolis, the defensive line hasn’t been dominant enough to hide a tattered secondary.

The 49ers knew Bosa had a greater-than-normal injury risk when they took him with the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2019. He had played three games in his final season at Ohio State before being sidelined by a groin/abdominal problem.

And while he isn’t a clone or an identical twin, there’s a lot of injury history in his family to consider. His father, John Bosa, was a Dolphins first-round pick in the 1980s, but played only three NFL season after blowing out both knees. And Nick's brother Joey, who plays for the Chargers, missed four games in his rookie season (hamstring) and nine in 2018 (foot). These Bosa guys pack a lot of muscle onto their frames, and it appears there’s a price to pay.

Edge rusher Dee Ford is another example. Man, the 49ers could really use his quarterback-chasing speed right now. But Ford is on the injured reserve with back problems — similar to what he experienced in 2017, when he missed 10 games with the Chiefs. You know, before the 49ers lavished him with almost $20 million in guaranteed money. He’s making a total of $14.5 million this year.

And don’t forget Richard Sherman. He was practically indestructible as a young NFL cornerback. Now he’s 32 years old, and had both Achilles’ tendons repaired in the 2017-18 offseason. Shanahan said Monday the 49ers were hoping to get Sherman back this week. But he suffered “some setbacks” and will remain on the shelf.

There are so many more examples. Some teams ask for references. The 49ers ask for health attestations.

They drafted wide receivers Richie James and Jalen Hurd, and defensive lineman Jullian Taylor, though all three had significant injury histories in college. All three are currently on the team’s IR or Physically Unable to Perform list. Another wide receiver (and probably the 49ers’ best), Deebo Samuel, is not. But he missed three games this season with a hurt foot. Three years ago, playing at South Carolina, he broke his leg in the third game and didn’t see the field again that season.

Shanahan and Lynch also traded for Garoppolo, who tore a ligament in his throwing shoulder while playing for the Patriots in 2016. Since he arrived, he has signed a lucrative deal and been knocked down by two separate injuries, including a torn ACL in 2018.

The 49ers signed talented tight end Jordan Reed, who brought a vast catalog of injuries with him, including SEVEN documented concussions; wide receiver Tavon Austin, who missed 11 Cowboys games in 2018 and 2019 with a groin and a concussion, but missed only training camp with a hamstring issue; and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who was sidelined for 14 games in 2018 and 2019 (two teams, two shoulders, one ankle, one neck). All of them are now on the injured reserve. Let’s not even start with cornerback Jason Verrett, a gifted cornerback and SRJC alum who has rarely seen the field in six NFL seasons.

It would be unfair to draw a direct line from most of these prior injuries to the current ones. But here’s the thing about sports medicine, as I say often enough to be annoying: The greatest predictor of future injuries is a history of prior injuries.

Lynch and Shanahan weren’t doomed when they drafted Hurd or signed Ford. But they were spinning the roulette wheel, right? Half the landing spots were black, and half were marked with red body parts — a hamstring, a ligament, a vertebra, etc.

And you know what? It’s an acceptable risk to take in many instances. Bosa is a transcendent talent. The value he provides when healthy, as evidenced in 2019, might outweigh the time he is apt to lose to injury over the course of his career. The problem comes when you assemble too many of those high-risk players at once —when you spin the wheel too often. Looking at what has befallen the 49ers this year, it’s hard not to believe that is part of the explanation.

Shanahan and Lynch much accept responsibility for assuming that risk, if not for the individual injuries.

Oh, and for anyone saying this is the worst-case scenario, that no one could have foreseen this many fallen warriors on the Levi’s turf? Remind them that the 49ers’ healthiest players of 2020 include safety Jimmie Ward and running back Jerick McKinnon, both all too familiar with being carted off fields.

I had planned to include linebacker Kwon Alexander in that paragraph. But Shanahan confirmed Monday that Alexander has a high ankle sprain and will be evaluated Wednesday.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.