Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 is going in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. With San Francisco opening the season Thursday night vs. the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, we turn the focus to 49ers, who are No. 7 in our preseason power rankings.
The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the NFL’s most successful teams under head coach Kyle Shanahan, especially over the last seven years with four NFC championship games and two Super Bowl appearances in that time.
Yet, last season might have been Shanahan’s best coaching job yet, coaxing an injury-riddled roster through relentless setbacks to a 12-5 record and the second round of the playoffs.
Given that and the possibility at least that the 49ers have better injury luck in 2026, that makes them legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
But injuries have been the team’s inescapable bugaboo for years now.
Aaron Schatz, who heads the NFL analytics site FTN Network, created a metric called “Adjusted Games Lost” to track which teams are impacted the most each season by injuries.
The 49ers had the fifth-most AGL (115) last season after having the most the previous season.
This is where the conspiracy theorists chime in about the effects from the electrical substation near the team’s practice facility and Levi’s Stadium, which the 49ers have dismissed after commissioning and independent scientist to study the matter.
We’ll leave that debate alone for now, but what’s undeniable is that — for whatever reason — the 49ers have had an awful run of injury misfortune.
Last year, the key injuries included: EDGE Nick Bosa (season-ending torn ACL in Week 3), LB and defensive leader Fred Warner (season-ending ankle fracture/dislocation in Week 6), QB Brock Purdy (missed 8 games total due to turf toe), EDGE Mykel Williams (season-ending torn ACL in Week 9), WR Brandon Aiyuk (never returned from 2024 torn ACL/MCL and meniscus), WR Rickey Pearsall (missed 8 games mostly due to a PCL sprain in his knee), TE George Kittle (limited to 11 games due to hamstring and ankle injuries and then sustained a torn Achilles tendon in playoff loss) among others.
Amazingly, oft-injured star running back Christan McCaffrey was remarkably healthy and played all 17 games for the first time since 2022. Go figure.
Well, the injury list is already starting to grow for 2026.
Pearsall, who just can’t catch a break, needed surgery on that injured knee that hadn’t healed right from last year and will now miss this entire season. Starting defensive tackle Alfred Collins tore the patellar tendon in his knee during a recent practice and is now out for the season as well. Free agent wide receiver addition Christian Kirk is opening the season on injured reserve with a calf injury. And Williams, the young edge rusher, is not ready for the start of the season.
But for now, the 49ers are largely in decent health with all of their star players good to go — including, incredibly, Kittle just eight months after that Achilles tear.
At even close to full strength, the 49ers have a good shot to get back to the conference championship game or beyond.
San Francisco 49ers Reset
2025 Finish: 12-5, lost 41-6 to Seahawks in divisional round
Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan, 10th season (82-67, 9-5 postseason with two Super Bowl appearances)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 0
Offensive Coordinator: Klay Kubiak, second season (Shanahan calls the offensive plays)
Defensive Coordinator: Raheem Morris, first season (former HC of Buccaneers and Falcons, former DC for Falcons and Rams)
Best Offseason Move: Signing WR Mike Evans
The 49ers gave Mike Evans a three-year, $42.4-million contract with only $16.3 million guaranteed (essentially just this season). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Evans had played his entire 12-year NFL career, very much wanted to keep him and reportedly offered more money than the 49ers, but the star receiver was ready for a change.
Even at 33 years old and coming off an injury-marred season, the potential future Hall of Famer is a substantial upgrade over former WR1 Jauan Jennings.
Before last season when a broken collarbone and concussion limited Evans to eight games, he was a model of consistency with 11 straight 1,000-yard season to tie legend Jerry Rice for the record.
Evans is the leader among active wide receivers with 13,052 career receiving yards (21st all-time) and second among active players with 108 receiving touchdowns (10th all-time).
One of the game’s great downfield weapons the last decade-plus, he provides a different dynamic for Purdy and this offense.
The Niners also signed free agent Deebo Samuel, returning the former fan favorite to San Francisco after a year away with the Commanders. He’s far removed from his peak, but the eighth-year veteran was solid last season in Washington with 72 catches for 727 yards and 5 TDs.
Add in promising rookie De’Zhaun Stribling, the 33rd pick in the draft out of Ole Miss, and San Francisco has impressive rebuilt its receiving corps while working around the injuries to Pearsall and Kirk.
Worst Offseason Move: Not being able to get draft assets for backup QB Mac Jones
The 49ers have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league, which is a great asset. The problem is he’s a free agent after this season, and because of what he showed in eight starts last season filling in for Purdy (2,151 yards, 13 TDs and 6 INTs overall while going 5-3 as a starter), he’ll likely leave for a starting job for whichever QB-needy team can’t address the position in the draft.
So Mac Jones will likely leave in the offseason with the 49ers receiving no real compensation. Shanahan basically acknowledged the 49ers didn’t receive a compelling offer for Jones, in which case they were absolutely right to not give him away.
But it would have been a boon in the big picture if they had been able to find an interested team willing to give up a Day 2 draft pick.
San Francisco 49ers Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: Offensive playmakers abound
Purdy’s ranking among NFL quarterbacks is widely debated, but it’s hard to say he isn’t a top 15 QB and perhaps top 10. He passed for 2,167 yards, 20 TDs and 10 INTs in just nine games last season and was one of the hottest QBs in the league over the second half as the Niners reeled off six straight wins as soon as he returned to the lineup while averaging 35.7 points in that span.
McCaffrey is one of the best all-around offensive weapons in the league when healthy and carried the offense last year with 1,202 rushing yards and 10 TDs and a team-high 102 receptions for 924 yard and 7 TDs.
We covered the wide receivers, and then there’s Kittle. The veteran tight end had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons before being limited by injuries last year and finishing with 57 catches for 628 yards and 7 TDs.
It remains to be seen what he looks like after his rapid return from the Achilles tear, but the 49ers wouldn’t be playing him this soon if they didn’t believe he could make an impact.
Biggest Weakness: Interior defensive line and depth at edge rusher
Losing Collins for the season was a big blow for a defensive line that now must rely on fourth-round rookie Gracen Halton (out of Oklahoma) to step into a starting role next to free agent addition Osa Odighizuwa.
Meanwhile, on the edge, there were questions about Bosa’s readiness for the start of the season and it remains to be seen how effective he is early on while Williams remains in recovery from his ACL injury and Keion White (just 7.5 sacks in three seasons) is being counted on to step up into a bigger role.
Most Intriguing Rookie: WR De’Zhaun Stribling
The 33rd overall pick in the draft had 55 catches for 811 yards and 6 TDs at Ole Miss last season has been one of the most talked-about rookies in the NFL during the preseason.
Stribling should have a major role as one of the top passing targets in this offense.
Breakout Player: Stribling or offensive lineman Carver Willis
The 49ers took Carver Willis, out of Washington, near the end of the fourth round of the draft, and he made a strong push for the starting left guard job in a competition with 2025 seventh-round pick Connor Colby.
Whether he starts immediately or not, Willis should get his chance to contribute as a rookie.
MVP Pick: RB Christian McCaffrey
As long as he remains healthy, the 49ers will continue to lean heavily on Christian McCaffrey in both the rushing attack and passing game.
He ideally won’t need to be the team’s leading receiver again — or have nearly twice as many receptions as any wide receiver/tight end — but his do-it-all ability makes him one of the most valuable players in the league.
2026 San Francisco 49ers Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 10 (Thursday) (in Melbourne, Australia) | vs. Los Angeles Rams | 8:35 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | vs. Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | vs. Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 11 | at Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 6, Oct. 19 (Monday) | vs. Washington Commanders | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | at Atlanta Falcons | 1 p.m. |
| Week 8 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 | vs. Las Vegas Raiders | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 15 | at Dallas Cowboys | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 22 | vs. Minnesota Vikings | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 29 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 13, Dec. 6 | at New York Giants | 1 p.m. |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 17 (Thursday) | at Los Angeles Chargers | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 16, Dec. 27 | at Kansas City Chiefs | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 17, Jan. 3 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | at Arizona Cardinals | TBD |
San Francisco 49ers Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 11-6
It really is, more than anything, a matter of the 49ers bucking the perennial injury trend and having their key players available for most of the season.
Because talent-wise, this team can compete with anyone week to week.
The problem for San Francisco is the NFC West is going to be one of the two toughest divisions in football again, with the Seahawks the reigning Super Bowl champions and the Rams the preseason Super Bowl favorites.
But expect Shanahan to have his team right in the thick of it as usual.
