The San Francisco 49ers have already been forced to contend with a lot of injuries in 2025, and the regular season has not even begun.
Some fans are blaming all of these injuries on the Niners’ stretching routine, or lack thereof.
The discourse surrounding this topic has reached absurd levels. It seems to have started back during joint practices with the Denver Broncos when a commentator on social media noted that the Broncos seemed to stretch more than San Francisco prior to practices.
Some people have latched onto this as the reason why the 49ers have already dealt with so many injuries.
Infamous 49ers reporter, Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated, who has earned the wrath of both players and coaches on the team in the past, piled onto this narrative by saying the team’s practices are short and so are their warmups. He seemed to be implying they were not spending enough time warming up, which could lead to injuries.
In response to Cohn, others noted what San Francisco’s practice schedule and warmups have looked like over the years, noting that there is stretching. Former 49ers offensive lineman Jon Feliciano, who recently floated the idea of un-retiring, said that he had never warmed up more in his career than his two years with the Niners.
In joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders last week, there were videos that came out of the 49ers stretching before practice, which proved that the team does in fact stretch, much to the shock of those who want to blame all of the team’s injuries on this one thing.
It is understandable why fans would want to blame just one thing on the team’s injury woes. They have been bit by the injury bug quite badly in recent years, so it is only natural that people want to figure out why it seems the 49ers get burned worse than other teams by injuries.
Yet, as NBC Sports Bay Area reporters Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan noted on the most recent episode of 49ers Talk, football is a violent game and no amount of calisthenics can prevent certain injuries like a dislocated shoulder or equally violent injuries.
If every injury the Niners suffered was a pulled hamstring or calf, then maybe people would have a stronger case that a lack of stretching is the cause of these ailments.
But when one thinks just somewhat critically about the team’s injuries, it just does not stand up to logic to proclaim that a lack of stretching is the main cause behind the team’s injury woes.
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