The San Francisco 49ers keep winning, but the injury report keeps growing, and that has pushed one NFL voice into unusual territory.
Dan Orlovsky floated the idea that San Francisco might want to borrow a page from the NBA and start thinking about “load managing” players. It’s not a phrase you hear much in football, but the setup in San Francisco makes the suggestion at least interesting: the 49ers are 6-0, they already have a six-game cushion, and they’ve built that mark while taking down some of the league’s best teams, including contenders in their own division.
“I will say, and I'm not being hyperbolic here, like, are the 49ers gonna be the first NFL team that kind of does the NBA load management?” Orlovsky asked. “Sitting at 6-0, almost a three-and-a-half-game lead in the division, they're so beat up… I'm not gonna overreact because they are 6-0, but I would not be surprised if this team just decides to, at some point with such a lead, try to pull back the burden on some of their really, really important pieces.”
The idea of load management is best known from the NBA, where the Toronto Raptors helped popularize it, even though the practice predates their championship run. In simple terms, it means giving key players rest in games that don’t carry the same weight, with the goal of keeping them fresher for the stretch run and the playoffs.
That’s usually a tough sell in the NFL, where every one of the 17 games matters. But San Francisco’s situation is not ordinary right now. The 49ers have a 6-0 record, the Seattle Seahawks are closest in the division at 3-3, and San Francisco has won one game against every division opponent, giving them the tiebreaker for the moment.
The injury list keeps getting longer, too. Mike Evans was the latest player to be added, joining Christian Kirk, Ricky Pearsall, DeMarcus Robinson, De'Zhaun Stribling, Jake Tonges, Nick Bosa, and Deebo Samuel.
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Even so, the path to a meaningful deal is not as simple as fans might hope. Some of the injured pass catchers are expected back soon, which gives San Francisco reason to wait before paying a premium, and the market itself does not offer many obvious upgrades. The one name who could really move the needle would come with a much steeper price, especially with other teams also in the mix, leaving the 49ers in a familiar spot of balancing urgency against patience. [Read more 🡒]