Christian McCaffrey, one of the most productive running backs in San Francisco 49ers history, is now part of a core the team is watching closely for a different reason: age. At 30 years old, McCaffrey is among several key veterans whose mileage is becoming a talking point as the 49ers navigate a chaotic 2026 training camp marked by injuries across the roster, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
Breer's reporting lays out just how much San Francisco is leaning on players well past the typical NFL prime. Left tackle Trent Williams is 38. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is 35. Wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end George Kittle are both 32. McCaffrey, at 30, sits alongside them, while All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, who turns 30 in November, is entering his ninth NFL season. Pass rusher Nick Bosa, once considered the young cornerstone of the defense, turns 29 in October and is now in his eighth season.
That list matters because, as Breer notes, the 49ers' defense in particular rises and falls with the health of Bosa, and the offense has long been built around the versatility of players like McCaffrey, Kittle and Evans. With so many core contributors on the back half of their careers, San Francisco's margin for error on injuries has shrunk considerably heading into the 2026 campaign.
Bosa's Long Road Back
Bosa's situation has become the defining storyline of camp in Santa Clara. He tore the ACL in his right knee last September, an injury that limited him to just three games in 2025. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bosa missed his third straight practice this past weekend because of soreness, even though he had been eased back into team activity during the first six practices of camp. He took part in individual drills but was held out of team work.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the soreness flared up during individual drills and that the team does not believe it signals a serious setback. "He was doing great and then he got sore just going through some of the individuals," Shanahan said, according to the Chronicle. "You wish that didn't happen. But there's no concern to where something's happened that is a big setback or anything. But we're waiting until that soreness goes away, and evaluating why the soreness has happened. But I still feel pretty good about that."
This marks the third torn ACL of Bosa's career, following a tear in high school and another in his left knee in 2020. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Bosa explained that the surgery to repair his most recent injury also cleaned up lingering tendinitis in the same knee dating back to high school, which he believes could ultimately leave him healthier than before. "I had a little tendinitis from my high school ACL, and he cleaned that up while he fixed my ACL," Bosa said. "That's gone. So it's like an improvement." He also said he feels faster with less bulk on his legs, a lesson he says he carried over from his 2020 recovery, adding, "I should play four more years because I tear my ACL every five years."
Despite the joke, Bosa said he genuinely believes he is still in his athletic prime, a sentiment echoed by All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, who told reporters on July 26 that "Bosa looks better than he did before he got hurt."
Pearsall Lost For The Season
Bosa is not the only significant absence. Shanahan called the season-ending knee surgery for wide receiver Ricky Pearsall a "huge deal," according to the Chronicle. Pearsall, a 2024 first-round pick, was limited to nine games last season by a PCL injury and never fully recovered before swelling after the first two camp practices this summer led doctors to recommend surgery. "You hope a lot of people step up, but no one here is wired exactly how Ricky is," Shanahan said. "They're all a little bit different. So you do lose a big part of what we were planning on."
With Pearsall out, the 49ers' receiver room now leans on the 32-year-old Evans, rookie second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling, and Deebo Samuel, who returned to San Francisco last month after the team traded him away just over a year earlier. General manager John Lynch said Samuel is "fully committed" to also handling kickoff return duties, and the Chronicle reported he even worked on fielding punts during a recent practice session, something he has not done since his sophomore year at South Carolina.
An Unsettled Offensive Line
Adding to the uncertainty, the 49ers still have not settled on a starting left guard after nine practices. Connor Colby opened camp as the presumptive starter but has been demoted to the second unit over the past three sessions, replaced by veteran Robert Jones. Offensive line coach Chris Foerster said old habits have resurfaced for Colby, a seventh-round pick in 2025 who made six starts last year, while Jones struggled in pass protection during his lone season as a full-time starter with the Dolphins, ranking 62nd out of 77 eligible guards in Pro Football Focus grading.
The line depth has been further strained by concussions to fourth-round pick Carver Willis and backup Brett Toth, according to the Chronicle. San Francisco opens the regular season on September 10 in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams, who have recently worked out former All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald as he weighs an unexpected return after two years in retirement.
All of this unfolds against the backdrop of Shanahan's own health scare. The coach was involved in a car accident on July 14, and Breer reported that Shanahan has been present at practices but taking a more removed, big-picture role while the team hopes he returns to full capacity by the regular season. For a roster fronted by McCaffrey, Kittle, Evans and Williams, all past 30, and a defense still waiting on a healthy Bosa, San Francisco's coaching staff has little room to absorb further setbacks before kickoff.
