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Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for On SI, Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.
Contributing Sports Writer
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Last year, Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers battled injuries all season long and finished just 6-11 largely as a result of their inability to stay healthy. Fast forward to 2025 NFL training camp, and it’s more of the same for Shanahan’s squad.
The 49ers have been absolutely ravaged by injuries this summer, so much so that they actually had to trade for Kansas City Chiefs bust Skyy Moore just to shore up their ailing receiving corps (Demarcus Robinson’s three-game suspension also played a role in that).
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So, what is the issue? Shanahan opened up on San Francisco’s health woes this week, and he didn’t really have much of an answer other than to say that it’s just something the Niners have to deal with.
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Santa…
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. San Francisco lost another lead in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks.
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Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
“It’s pretty tough,” Shanahan told reporters (h/t 49ers Webzone). “If it’s a challenge for the fans, I promise you guys, it’s a bigger challenge for me, just dealing with all this. We haven’t had the best luck this year — down probably more guys than we’ve had. It’s a tough situation. You’ve got to keep practicing because we’ve got to improve, we’ve got to be ready for the season, we’ve got to continue to get better for the season, but it does make that a huge challenge with the number of guys we’ve had down.”
The 49ers entered 2024 with quite arguably the NFL‘s most loaded roster on paper and were coming off of a Super Bowl appearance. However, we never actually got to see San Francisco hit its stride thanks to so many of its top players not being able to stay on the field.
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You would have thought that it was just a string of bad luck for the Niners last season, but it may be deeper than that, with some wondering if Shanahan is pushing his players too hard in practice.
The 49ers will open up their regular season on the road against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7. Whether or not they will actually be healthier by then remains to be seen.
For more on the 49ers and NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.