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Written by Madeleine Warren, 10/15/2025
San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay
On Sunday, the Niners faced their second loss of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not only did they lose the game, but linebacker Fred Warner was ruled out for the season after dislocating and breaking his right ankle.
Warner is just one of many star Niners suffering through injuries this season. Just to name a few, starting quarterback Purdy is out with turf toe, Pearsall with a knee injury, Bosa torn ACL and George Kittle (brittle) with a strained hamstring. It’s honestly a miracle that McCaffery has made it this far, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up with two broken legs and a missing arm next Sunday.
It’s no shock that the accumulation of injuries this season has sparked frustration amongst Niner fans. Not only that, but tension appears high amongst the (remaining) players and coaches. Jennings was spotted having a heated exchange with coach Kyle Shanahan, later admitting he played through 5 broken ribs alongside some ankle and shoulder problems. While the Week 7 injury report is yet to come out, it’s questionable whether Jennings' “I love pain” mentality will get him on the field for their game against the Falcons.
Bad luck vs. bad coaching
For years the Niners have struggled with excessive injuries. In 2020 Bosa, Kittle, Deebo and Garoppolo missed significant time and in 2024 CMC suffered various injuries alongside Aiyuk who tore his ACL and MCL with his recovery dragging well into this season. And to top it all off, Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest days before the start of the regular season.
Can the Niners’ injury streak be attributed to bad luck? Maybe it's the supernatural, forcing Shanahan to make sacrifices to keep CMC intact. Who knows?
Seriously though, something is definitely wrong and changes need to be made. Some fans blame the training staff for failing to keep players healthy. Others blame Shanahan for his intense practice schedule and bringing back players before they're fully recovered. Game 1 this season McCaffery was labeled ‘questionable’ yet came out with 31 touches. This number was especially high for a the fragile running back who was just coming off of an injury. Additionally, it’s difficult to say if most other coaches would’ve let Jennings play that last game, but it makes a lot of sense that Shanahan gave him the go-ahead.
While Mac Jones has been doing pretty well keeping the team afloat amid the sea of injuries, it’s gonna be difficult to keep this up while the entire crew is hospitalized. While fans are hopeful to see some of their stars like Kittle or Pearsall return in the coming weeks, rushing them back might only make it worse.
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