​FTN Fantasy released its chapters for each team, and as you’d expect, injuries dominated the San Francisco 49ers narrative. The Niners once again ranked among the top five in adjusted games lost (AGL) in 2025, with 115 games lost—an improvement over the 141.2 figure from 2024. FTN acknowledged that their metrics couldn’t fully explain what happened to San Francisco last season. Adjusted games lost weighs injuries to starters and key backups and even accounts for games when players aren’t at 100 percent, such as those listed as questionable on the final injury report. It offers a more accurate representation of a team’s overall suffering than a raw count of games or players lost. Yet our metrics aren’t capable of capturing the entire story of the 49ers’ 2025 season. For instance, while AGL distinguishes between starters and depth pieces, it does not differentiate between starters and All-Pros like Nick Bosa, George Kittle, and Fred Warner, all of whom missed substantial time in 2025. It’s impossible to quantify the impact of losing what were arguably the team’s three most influential players.
The 49ers have built their roster around their All-Pros, and when those players aren’t on the field, everything shifts. It’s also challenging to weigh the value of positions at specific roles, such as wide receiver and edge rusher. Raw AGL figures don’t fully convey the effect of injuries concentrated within particular position groups. The 49ers endured 28.5 AGL among their edge rushers—the highest in the NFL—and 27.1 AGL at wide receiver, second only to the Buccaneers. At various points during the year, the team relied on third-stringers and free agents at critical positions, a scenario that can cripple a club more than the absence of a single starter.
Unsullied by expectations, the 49ers responded by drafting to bolster depth at those positions—an early wide receiver and an edge rusher were added to enhance depth and provide stronger backups in case of further injuries. The August period brought a cascade of injuries that weren’t fully addressed by AGL data, which doesn’t track preseason injuries. Dominick Puni sustained a preseason injury that lingered for the first six weeks of the season. Mac Jones sprained an ankle during the preseason and missed time. Jaco Cowing, Trent Taylor, Corey Kiner, Jordan James, and Patrick Taylor all missed moments in the campaign. Trades were necessary to shore up the ranks at wide receiver and running back, with Brian Robinson and Skyy Moore brought in to fill the gaps.
If you examine a single position, you can likely locate an injury story behind the numbers. While the 49ers’ injury rates last year weren’t historically extraordinary, they put the team into a unique and continually changing bind. In addition to losing several key All-Pros and much of their edge rushing and receiving corps, San Francisco also lost Brock Purdy for eight starts. The team sacrificed first-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-round picks to injuries and availability over large stretches of the season. The 2024 first-round choice missed October and much of the rest of the year. These complications compounded the challenge of navigating a season that demanded depth, adaptability, and resilience, underscoring how injuries, even when not catastrophic in isolation, can reshape a team’s trajectory in meaningful and lasting ways.