The San Francisco 49ers endured another injury-plagued campaign in 2025. Despite the setbacks, the team still won 12 games and reached the postseason, leaving many to wonder how much further it could have advanced had several key contributors remained healthy.

As injuries have piled up in recent seasons, questions have emerged about why the 49ers have been hit so hard. Speculation has ranged from training methods to recovery protocols—and even, in some corners, the nearby electrical substation adjacent to the team's practice facility, a theory that remains unproven.


Former 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, now with the Denver Broncos, recently made comments that reignited fan discussion about the team's approach to player maintenance. Greenlaw said adjusting from Kyle Shanahan's practices in Santa Clara to Sean Payton's regimen in Denver was a noticeable challenge due to the increased intensity.

"It's just two different personality coaches," Greenlaw said. "Sean's old school. He's going to do six days on, one day off. He's got his way of doing things. You're going to be practicing three hours on Wednesday, three hours on Friday. Shanahan, he's the complete opposite. He wants you fresh. It's two completely different mindsets."


Greenlaw added, "They both have their way of doing things, and it's for good reasons, too."


While Payton is clearly taking advantage of the NFL rule allowing up to three hours of padded practices, Shanahan's on-field sessions in Santa Clara are typically shorter.

Using data from Spotrac and Pro Football Reference, RotoWire recently analyzed the NFL's most injury-affected teams in 2025, ranking them by player-games lost to injury designations. While the Arizona Cardinals led the league with 303 player games lost, the 49ers ranked among the top four with 254. The Broncos finished 22nd with 171.


Notably, the two teams that reached the NFC Championship Game—the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams—ranked in the bottom five of the league in injuries.

Last week, 49ers general manager John Lynch was asked whether the organization would continue searching for explanations behind the team's ongoing injury issues.

"This year, it was tough, and it took a toll on our team," Lynch said. "And we'll continue to look. Now, having said that, we've spent a lot of time and effort in recruiting quality people, and being at the forefront of injury prevention. I think, this year, probably because the star players that went down, there was a lot of attention given on that.

"The fact of the matter is injuries are a part of this game. And so, what we strive to do is never to eliminate injuries, but to mitigate injuries. And I think we have a lot of good processes. We'll challenge them all, and that process has begun. It never, frankly, stopped. But yes, we'll look at everything, and we'll examine everything."

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