Maxx Crosby Lauds Kyle Shanahan for Keeping the 49ers’ Hopes Afloat Amid Injury Crisis

The San Francisco 49ers are starting to convalesce, with their top quarterback and top wide receiver getting back into action after absences of seven weeks apiece. But even with Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall returning to the fold, injuries abound in the Bay.

In fact, since 2017, the 49ers have lost the second-most games (1,600) to players on injured reserve. But somehow, this season, as with most under his watchful eye, head coach Kyle Shanahan has managed to steer the 49ers to a strong start. As of Week 11, they are the No. 7 seed in the strong NFC. It’s the second straight season in which Shanahan and his staff have had to overcome what some would characterize as an unusually large number of injuries to impact players.

Last year, the injury woes sank them, as they finished 6-11. This year, they have already improved on that with a 7-4 record to start the season despite a similar number of injuries. And peers are noticing, as Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby shouted Shanahan out for his ability to keep the team afloat in the face of such harsh odds.

“With all the injuries they’ve had with the 49ers, I think Kyle Shanahan has proved how good of a coach he is. He’s been able to keep that team above water, and they’ve got a winning record. I think they’re what 7-3 or 7-4? Something like that. And they’re playing pretty damn good football, “ Crosby said on his podcast, The Rush.

In the strong NFC West, the 49ers are sitting third, but they do have that final Wild Card spot. They are half a game behind the 7-3 Seattle Seahawks and 1.5 behind the 8-2 Los Angeles Rams. And they’re keeping pace with two of the best teams in the league despite losing what Crosby and most others would call their “top dogs” on defense to season-ending injuries.

“They’ve got a lot of their top dogs out. Nick Bosa, Fred Warner. They missed [George] Kittle for weeks, and they’re still finding ways to win. Shanahan’s a great coach… They just keep finding ways to win and be in the mix. So, yeah, I got a lot of respect for coach Shanahan because clearly they’re doing it the right way over there. And they’ve been a consistent winner for a long time.”

The injuries at wide receiver have been tough to believe as well. The Niners knew they wouldn’t have WR1 Brandon Aiyuk until midseason; his recovery from a torn ACL has already taken longer than expected. Then, they lost 2024 first-round pick and presumptive WR2 Ricky Pearsall to an injury that cost him nearly two months.

WR3 Jauan Jennings hasn’t been safe either, having missed a couple of games while also playing through everything from ankle to rib to shoulder issues.

They’re starting to get healthier in that position, but they’re likely already sitting near the top of the Adjusted Games Lost (AGL) to injury table for 2025 after leading the league with 141.2 last season. For those unaware, here’s a quick breakdown of what AGL calculates:

“Adjusted games lost doesn’t just add up total injuries. It accounts for both absent players and those playing at less than 100%, and it specifically measures injuries to expected starters and important situational players rather than little-used backups. AGL estimates the impact of injuries on teams and provides a comparable total that often succinctly explains why teams improved or declined from one year to the next.”

Despite all of that bad injury luck, Shanahan has kept things above water in the Bay. Most teams that lose their starting QB struggle mightily (see: the Joe Burrow-less 3-7 Bengals). But Shanahan got Mac Jones to come in for Purdy, and the transitions to and from the two QBs have been smooth as butter.

The 49ers have had a relatively easy start to the season as far as strength of schedule is concerned. Their remaining six games rank 13th-toughest in the league. That puts them in a good spot to push through to an unlikely playoff berth.