The stars are not aligning favorably for the 2020 49ers, because their brightest stars keep crashing to the ground. Not even a month into this season of highest expectations, the horrifying attrition of the defending NFC champions has the rest of the football world pondering their place in the NFL galaxy.
Suddenly, it’s not just about getting back to the Super Bowl. It’s about survival.
Imagine a universe where the 49ers must forge forward and battle to remain at the top without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman, tight end George Kittle, cornerback Richard Sherman, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, center Weston Richburg and defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Solomon Thomas.
That list includes at least eight key starters, two of them All-Pros and seven adorned with some level of Pro Bowl recognition over the previous two seasons.
The 49ers were without all of them during the second half of their Week 2 bloodbath on the unforgiving, newly-installed artificial turf at MetLife Stadium. Five of them were lost to varying degrees of injury during the game.
It could be well into October before anybody sees Garoppolo, Kittle, Sherman and Richburg wearing a San Francisco uniform again. It could be 2021 before we see Bosa or Thomas.
Esta historia es de la edición October 2020 de Niner Report.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 2020 de Niner Report.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
