2 national reporters believe the 49ers’ injuries will hold them back this season

The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with injuries to their best players. That’s hardly surprising and has been a theme essentially every during Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. But at some point, the attrition takes a toll.

The injury replacements have fared well. George Kittle returned to practice on Wednesday at a limited capacity, but Eric Saubert has filled in admirably.

Jauan Jennings, who flashed the ability to be a WR2 in the long-term in Week 1, looked like a top target against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.

Still, there’s no replacing Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey’s explosive ability. Kittle commands respect and attention from opposing defenses, which has never been the case in Saubert’s career, and only opens up things for other players on the field.

But the injuries are the bigger issue on the other side of the ball. Talanoa Hufanga’s recent return to safety will help, but the glaring hole in the middle without Dre Greenlaw has left the 49ers run defense as one of the worst in the league. Arik Armstead’s exit isn’t being talked about enough, while Javon Hargrave’s injury only compounds the loss.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler were in lockstep about which team’s injuries were the most concerning through three weeks. It’s the Niners:

Fowler: Where do you start? Several contenders have been ravaged by injuries through three weeks. San Francisco has had a terrible stretch. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (torn pec, out for year) is the 49ers’ fourth elite player to go down for a short or extended period, joining running back Christian McCaffrey (calf/Achilles), tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (calf). That McCaffrey is seeing a specialist in Germany for his injury can’t be good for his outlook. The earliest he can return is Week 6, but that seems like a long shot. The 49ers have enough personnel to survive … but I’m not sure they have enough to thrive.

Graziano: The 49ers are my answer, too. They built a very top-heavy roster with highly paid stars, and if those guys miss significant time it’s going to be tough for them to fill in — receiver Jauan Jennings and running back Jordan Mason notwithstanding. Sunday’s in-division collapse against the Rams could come back to haunt them, as the Niners are already two games behind 3-0 Seattle. San Francisco needs to get some of its stars back soon. We’ve seen the 49ers lose entire seasons to injury epidemics during Kyle Shanahan’s tenure already, and the window for the current group isn’t going to last forever.

There is an undeniable amount of mileage on Kittle, Samuel, and McCaffrey. Those are three of the most critical players on the roster to the 49ers’ success. The offense will need to be proficient for the remainder of the season as the defense figures to lag behind without Hargrave.

McCaffrey’s return for the second half of the season should go a long way. He’ll be fresh. But Kittle and Samuel must stay healthy, and the offense needs to figure out how to get Brandon Aiyuk going. Plus, once he’s healthy, Ricky Pearsall should help.

If Brock Purdy continues to emerge and elevate the talent around him, the 49ers will thrive. He’s been excellent, and it’ll be difficult for teams to keep pace with this offense. The other two phases of the game just can’t make disastrous mistakes, like giving up a blocked punt or a long punt return, or explosive plays through the air.