A lot has been made of the San Francisco 49ers' aging roster. In what was a strange offseason for the team, GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan carried out the wishes of principal owner and CEO, Jed York, who wanted to cut costs. Lynch and Shanahan trimmed the roster of some larger contracts, while growing younger. The roster isn't as deep as it once was, but it is younger, faster, and hungrier than it was a year ago. And the depth is being tested already this season, due to multiple injuries.


On Saturday, Dianna Russini of The Athletic discussed the 49ers' injury woes in her latest "What I'm Hearing" piece. Earlier this week, San Francisco placed TE George Kittle in injured reserve (IR) with a hamstring injury, meaning he will miss at least four games. Additionally, QB Brock Purdy will not play in New Orleans on Sunday and may miss multiple weeks with a toe injury.


But Russini also made mention of a message she received from an unnamed front-office member who, while praising the Green Bay Packers, took a jab at the 49ers.

Russini wrote, "While watching Green Bay on Thursday night, a front-office executive from a different team sent me a line that stuck: 'This is how you build a young team ... they're the anti-San Francisco.' He's not wrong. The 49ers' roster is older now, with fewer young contributors ready to step in when injuries hit. For all the praise Lynch and his staff have earned, some recent roster decisions are catching up to them. Between the 2022 and 2023 drafts, the 49ers made 18 selections. Only seven of those players are currently on the active roster — one of them being Purdy. They spent a third-rounder on a kicker — who was cut this week. The misses are piling up."

In 2021, the 49ers traded up to draft QB Trey Lance at number three overall. Lance was released before the 2023 season began and is now on his third team. Of that 2021 draft, only CB Deommodore Lenoir remains.

In 2022, the 49ers had no first-round pick due to the Lance trade. Of their nine selections, only Purdy, OL Spencer Burford, and DT Kalia Davis are still on the team.

The 2023 draft wasn't much better, especially since it was more recent. The 49ers again had no first-round pick. They also had no second-round selection. S Ji'Ayir Brown, CB Darrell Luter, Jr., DE Robert Beal, Jr., and LB Dee Winters remain. TE Brayden Willis is on the team's practice squad.


There have been plenty of misses for the 49ers, but this is still a talented team capable of winning plenty of games.

"Make no mistake that when their high-priced stars — Nick Bosa, Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Fred Warner — are healthy, the 49ers can keep up with anyone," Russini added. "But with injuries popping up every season and the margin for error shrinking, it's harder to picture this version of the Niners sustaining dominance the way they once did."

Perhaps the 49ers aren't a Super Bowl contender in 2025. But Lynch and Shanahan, who took over the team in 2017, built a Super Bowl roster in only two years. They believe they can do it again.

And there's no reason to doubt that.

Written By:

Marc Adams


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