Not just injuries caused 2-10 record
er John Lynch have been disappointing, to varying degrees.
In addition, two of last year’s biggest free-agent signees, wide receiver Pierre Garcon and inside linebacker Malcolm Smith, have been dogged by injuries, an issue that has marked their twoseason tenures.
First, consider those draft picks: Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas hasn’t come close to resembling a No. 3 overall selection. Thrice-arrested inside linebacker Reuben Foster (first round) was released last month. Beleaguered cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (third round) was benched twice early in the season. Quarterback C.J. Beathard (third round) was supplanted by Nick Mullens, a 2017 undrafted free agent. And running back Joe Williams (fourth round) was released before Week 1 without having played a regular-season snap with the team.
Making matters worse, the 49ers three times traded a pick to move up in the draft, giving up a third-round pick in order to select Foster, a fifth-round pick to take Williams and a seventh-rounder to get Beathard.
As for Garcon and Smith, they have combined to miss 30 games since they signed. Garcon, whom the 49ers tried to deal at the trade deadline, has missed four of the past five games with a knee injury and could be placed on injured reserve for the second straight season. Smith is playing with tendinitis in his lower leg and wasn’t overly optimistic last week when asked if it would clear up in the offseason: “I hope so,” he said.
Lynch and Shanahan have had some monumental misses, but the 2017 draft class did include tight end George Kittle, a fifth-round steal. And their first three 2018 draft picks — right tackle Mike McGlinchey, wide receiver Dante Pettis and linebacker Fred Warner — all appear promising. In addition, Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Sherman have been strong free-agent signings, and New England head coach Bill Belichick called the 49ers to offer Garoppolo for a secondround pick partly because of his respect for Shanahan and Lynch.
Still, there has been a shift this season in the way Shanahan and Lynch are viewed: The honeymoon has ended and been replaced by a period in which their acumen is being questioned for the first time.
In other words, their collective reputation has taken a hit.
And that places them among the many who have been pounded in the 49ers’ painful season.