49ers Training Staff Bears Responsibilty for De'Zhaun Stribling's Injury

Here we go again.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 49ers need to seriously consider firing their training staff.

It's no secret that the 49ers have an injury issue that goes back more than 10 years, and people don't know exactly why this issue persists. Some blame the giant electrical substation right next to the facility. Others blame the players because so many of them are old and injury-prone. But the training staff might bear the most responsibility.

Consider how Stribling got injured. He suffered a deltoid sprain in his ankle early during the 49ers' win over the Rams, limped off the field and into the blue injury tent. The 49ers' medical brain trust, led by vice president of player health and performance Dustin Perry and team physician Timothy McAdams, examined Stribling's injured ankle for minutes, and then decided that he was good to go back into the game. They cleared him.

So, Stribling went back into the game. What else was he supposed to do? Protest? He's a rookie. He does what he's told.

First play back in the game, Stribling runs a route, makes a break, and falls to the ground clutching his ankle. He just re-injured it and possibly made it worse. This time, he couldn't limp off the field. The 49ers had to load him onto a cart and drive him into the locker room. Now, they say he'll miss at least the next four weeks, and that he doesn't need surgery, but he's seeking more opinions.

Keep in mind, the 49ers' initial medical opinion about Stribling's deltoid sprain was that it wasn't a big deal. It was something he could shake off and play through. They were wrong. And now he'll miss at least a month. Who knows, maybe he would return sooner if the 49ers hadn't put him back in the game?

This isn't the first time the 49ers' training staff and medical team have cleared a player too quickly. Just last year, Brock Purdy suffered a turf toe injury in Week 1. Instead of putting him on IR until he was completely healed, which is what the Bengals did with Joe Burrow when he suffered the same injury last season, the 49ers cleared Purdy for their Week 4 game against the Jaguars.

Purdy was awful in this game. He wasn't ready to play. The 49ers lost. He reinjured his toe and made it worse, and then missed the next six weeks. What a blunder.

Then there's Ricky Pearsall. He suffered a PCL injury in Week 4 of last season. Once again, the 49ers didn't put him on IR, because they must have thought that Pearsall would return in fewer than four weeks. That was their expert opinion.

Instead, Pearsall sat out six games. When he returned, he wasn't good. Clearly, he wasn't fully recovered. And then he reinjured his knee against the Titans, just like Purdy reinjured his toe against the Jaguars.

Still, the 49ers advised Pearsall against having surgery. They thought his PCL injury would heal on its own. Again, they were wrong, and so Pearsall had to come to training camp, try to play, reinjure the knee again and finally shut it down for the season so he could have the reconstructive surgery he should have had last year.

Which brings us back to Stribling. It's clear the 49ers want him back as soon as possible because they need him. Which means they want him to try to recover without surgery before ultimately deciding to go under the knife.

How many players have to get re-injured while following the 49ers' expedited recovery plans before the team replaces this training staff? How many NFL trainers could keep their jobs for a decade while working for the most injured team in the league?

Given that the season already has begun, it's probably too late for the 49ers to make meaningful changes to their training staff this season. But if they have yet another season in which they fall short because players keep getting injured, coming back too soon and getting reinjured, then we'll know who to blame.

Be careful, De'Zhaun. Advocate for yourself. Don't let them rush you back.