Why the 49ers Suffered so many Soft-Tissue Injuries in Training Camp

This week, John Lynch spoke to Bay Area reporters for the first time since training camp ended. I asked him why so many of his players suffered soft-tissue injuries -- hamstring pulls, calf strains, etc. -- during camp. Lynch gave a detailed, thoughtful, honest answer, as he always does:

“We always study that. I do think, due to Covid-19, we had the decision to go with 90 or 80 (players for training camp). The 80 really made sense, because they also told you if you stayed with 90 how you’d have to break up the team. That wasn’t of interest to us. But then we had a number of guys on the PUP, so you come with a lesser amount of players. So that number, 80, was really more like 75 at the start.

“You make the necessary adjustments, but a lot was being asked of our players and our team. And sometimes, those things just happen. I think the difference this year was that the season was so close. About seven, eight, nine practices in, those soft-tissue issues in training camp usually start showing up. We’ve done a lot of work to try to address those things so that they don’t happen, by giving guys high and low days and altering our schedule, Ben Peterson and his group have done a really nice job, but I just think there were some dynamics this year that were different.

“Yes, we always examine to see what we can learn from situations, but I’m proud of the way our medical staff is working and our guys. I would also say, in the past where there are some lesser-grade hamstring and groin injuries where maybe a guy tried to work through it, we’re a little more -- not cautious -- but we try to be prudent about them getting their work on the side as opposed to going out on the field and doing it. We wanted guys ready for Week 1. Hopefully, we’ll have most of them, if not all of them back.”

I appreciate Lynch’s candor and mostly agree with him. I don’t want to second guess him or use the benefit of hindsight to criticize the 49ers’ training camp.

Here’s what I’ll say: If the 49ers understood their players would have to practice more in camp this year because there were only 75 guys as opposed to 90, the starters should not have taken on the extra work. Let the backups work harder. Because lots of starters suffered soft-tissue injuries -- George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, to name a few.

Also, Lynch said he’s proud of his training staff. Proud isn’t the word I would use to describe it. For the past 15 to 16 months, the training staff has been the only part of the 49ers organization that’s been less than first-rate. Injuries have been a major issue for the 49ers the past two seasons. Lynch should re-examine that training staff.