Shanahan won't blame medical staff for 49ers' long injury list

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The 49ers have one of the longest injury lists in the NFL, and Kyle Shanahan knows what to blame. 

Over 20 starting-caliber players are currently unable to suit up for games, including Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle and Nick Bosa. Shanahan, however, is not focusing on his player performance staff. 

“Well, the strength and conditioning staff goes through that throughout an offseason," Shanahan said Friday to reporters. "So, it's hard to evaluate how they're doing in Zoom workouts throughout the offseason. So, I'm not putting much on them for that. This is the situation the whole league is dealing with. I know we have it worse than others, but you don't go through an entire offseason and you go through a two-week training camp.

"That's, I think, what anyone using common sense should expect.”

In addition to a shortened training camp, players also entered Week 1 without any preseason games or joint practice scrimmages. Without a normal ramp up to full contact, players immediately jumped from an extended offseason into playing a full 60-minute game. 

Prior to the start of the season, Shanahan shared that the 49ers never held a full contact practice, in an attempt to protect their players from injury. 

The 49ers also are likely to not make a change with their training staff because Shanahan and general manager John Lynch made a change in February 2019 to streamline their medical and training staff.

RELATED: 49ers hopeful for returns of Mostert, Samuel vs. Saints

Instead of having two separate departments, they integrated the two to promote better communication. In 2019, the setup was successful as the team stayed mostly healthy through their run to Super Bowl LIV.

After the 49ers' 34-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers might have lost two more starters to injury. Jaquiski Tartt appears to have turf toe and K’Waun Williams likely has a high ankle sprain. The 49ers are awaiting further testing to confirm the severity of both injuries. 

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