One year later, nearly all of the 49ers’ irreplaceable stars are healthy and back on the field, as is Garoppolo. The 49ers have started the 2021 season with narrow-but-still-convincing victories over the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers are designed to be more disaster-proof than most teams, which made their 2020 collapse all the more frustrating. The 49ers could have operated effectively last season without some combination of Garoppolo, Kittle, Samuel, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was a 2020 first-round pick, and the top running backs Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert. But Arik Armstead was the only 49ers lineman to start all 16 games.

Source: New York Times September 22, 2021 03:56 UTC