49ers Already Entering the Season Two Touchdowns Behind

The Niners currently sit 0-0 with the opening matchup against the Rams in Melbourne coming up, but based on everything that’s gone down within the franchise over the past couple of months, it seems as if the Niners have already gotten off to an 0-2 start.

The 49ers have unsurprisingly had an injury-riddled training camp, which has basically become customary under Kyle Shanahan. Ricky Pearsall has been ruled out for the year with his lingering PCL injury. Mike Evans has been in and out, including with a new injury reported today. Nick Bosa hasn’t practiced since Aug. 3. Mykel Williams isn’t expected to be ready in Week 1, while Kittle is expected to be, which could be deemed irresponsible. Other players, such as Christian Kirk, Jacob Cowing and Upton Stout, are also dealing with injuries.

The most crucial aspect of the injury bug is the Niners’ wide receiver room. No Pearsall for the year already leaves them thin, and Evans unsurprisingly being in and out leaves the Niners very thin at receiver, as their current go-to guys are rookie Dizhuan Scribbling and Deebo Samuel, who was signed on July 25. Not the best position to be in.

It’s been off-the-field controversy to another off-the-field controversy, and again, the injury crisis continues for San Francisco.

Brandon Aiyuk’s off-the-field social media presence has been a distraction for the 49ers all offseason, including his infamous incident when he sped past Levi’s in December of last season. The charge came in June, when he was issued a misdemeanor. Throughout the offseason, Aiyuk has been the center of attention due to the public fallout he’s had with the 49ers. To this day, Aiyuk still has not applied for reinstatement. Therefore, his contract has remained frozen, and he earns no salary despite the 49ers retaining their contractual rights over him.

Kyle Shanahan got into a car crash right before the start of training camp, leading him to be limited at the beginning of camp due to his injuries and concussion. Shanahan later admitted he was at fault for the car accident, which only added to the controversy surrounding a crash that was kept hidden for quite a while. But as news surfaced, Shanahan admitted the accident was his fault after the initial police report claimed the other victim was at fault.

The most recent controversy came from 49ers owner Jed York getting arrested this past weekend in East Palestine, Ohio. He pleaded no contest to two charges, one on suspicion of engaging in prostitution, which was later changed to disorderly conduct, and the other for possession of criminal tools. It’s a bad look for the owner and guardian of a prestigious organization like the 49ers, especially with the start of the regular season fast approaching.

If the 49ers didn’t have the winning culture Kyle Shanahan has built, this team would have five to eight wins written all over it. But something about Shanahan gets the best out of this group, especially when he has his starting quarterback available to him. If there is a silver lining, it’s a clean bill of health for Brock Purdy so far this training camp.

But the Niners are indeed going into this season two touchdowns behind and will need to overcome another mountain, like they did last season with their unfathomable amount of injuries.