Niners’ injury probe includes looking into substation

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After yet another injury-plagued season, the San Francisco 49ers intend to investigate every avenue to find out why those ailments continue to pile up year after year.

That includes an investigation into the viral conspiracy theory that the electrical substation near their training facility and Levi’s Stadium is contributing to those injuries, general manager John Lynch said Wednesday.

“Because it deals with allegedly the health and safety of our players, I think you have to look into everything,” Lynch said. “We’ve been reaching out to anyone and everyone to see, does a study exist other than a guy sticking an apparatus underneath the fence and coming up with a number that I have no idea what that means? That’s what we know exists. We’ve heard that debunked. … The health and safety of our players is of the utmost priority. We pore into it. Our ownership, Jed [York] is tremendous in terms of resources, and we’ll always be cognizant of things. I know that a lot of games have been won at this facility since it opened, but yeah, we aren’t going to turn a blind eye.”

The theory that has been making the rounds on the internet and has crept its way into the 49ers’ locker room — receiver Kendrick Bourne alluded to it after tight end George Kittle tore his right Achilles in the playoff game against Philadelphia — suggests the Niners’ lengthy injury list over the past decade-plus can be attributed, in part, to excessive exposure to electromotive force (EMF).

The 49ers have trained in Santa Clara since the late 1980s with the substation coming in a few years later. The station, which is operated by Silicon Valley Power, expanded in 2014 in conjunction with the opening of Levi’s Stadium.

The theory has been shot down by various scientists and medical professionals. Frank de Vocht, a professor of epidemiology and public health at Bristol Medical School in England, is considered a leading expert on how EMF affects humans and told The Washington Post that the theory is “nonsense.”

Still, the 49ers’ injury issues over the past decade or so are robust enough to take nothing off the table. This season, San Francisco lost three of its best players — defensive end Nick Bosa (torn ACL), linebacker Fred Warner (broken ankle) and Kittle (Achilles) — to season-ending injuries. First-round pick Mykel Williams (torn ACL) also missed a big chunk of the season.

There were lengthy absences for quarterback Brock Purdy (turf toe variant), receivers Ricky Pearsall (sprained knee and ankle) and Jauan Jennings (rib, shoulder and ankle) and linebacker Tatum Bethune (groin).

According to OverTheCap, the 49ers had 20 players on a reserve list this season, accounting for more than $95 million in adjusted annual value on their contracts, the highest amount in the league by nearly $20 million over second-place Arizona.

That comes on the heels of a 2024 season in which the Niners led the league in adjusted games lost (141.2), a number that estimates the impact of injuries on teams. They also led the league in that category in 2020 (not including COVID-19).

“We’re always looking into trends, data, everything we do,” Lynch said. “Our health and performance of our players is at the utmost priority each and every year. This year it was tough, and it took a toll on our team, and we’ll continue to look. … We’ve spent a lot of time and effort in recruiting really quality people. And I think being at the forefront of injury prevention and I think this year, probably because the star players that went down, there was a lot of attention given on that.”

On the injury front, Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that Bosa and Williams will have a chance to be back around the start of training camp or early into it. Warner should be good to go for the start of the offseason program, and Kittle is expected back during the season.

Rookie linebacker Nick Martin cleared protocol Wednesday morning for a concussion he suffered Nov. 30, and tight end Jake Tonges suffered a plantar fascia injury against Seattle that will keep him out about three weeks.

Defensive tackle Alfred Collins might also need surgery on a shoulder injury suffered last week against Seattle, Shanahan said.

According to Lynch, the 49ers will do a deep dive into their entire process for injuries beyond conspiracy theories.

“The fact of the matter is injuries are a part of this game,” Lynch said. “What we strive to do is never to eliminate injuries, but to mitigate injuries. And I think we have a lot of good processes. We’ll challenge them all. And that process has begun. It never frankly stopped. But yes, we’ll look at everything, and we’ll examine everything.”

Originally published at ESPN