49ers injury woes have small silver lining

Injuries are an unfortunate reality in the NFL, and there’s no good time for a team to get hit with a slew of them. The 49ers face a situation less than a week into OTAs where they have nearly as many contributors out with various ailments as they do on the field.

There’s not a lot of good that can come out of this scenario, especially for a team that’s season was derailed by injuries a season ago, but there may actually be a small silver lining in this early bout with the injury bug for San Francisco.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said for the 49ers’ current health issues is that it’s happening at a time of year where they can afford to have players out.

They’re able to take extra precautions to make sure players are fully healthy by the time training camp and the preseason starts, which is when a team would prefer to have a fully healthy roster. It doesn’t look like many of the injuries will keep players out well into training camp. Early word is that Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Matt Breida, Garrett Celek, Malcolm Smith, Raheem Mostert, Weston Richburg, Jimmie Ward and DJ Reed should all be back in time for camp.

Jason Verrett, Kwon Alexander and Jerick McKinnon may be out longer than that, but the 49ers have known that’s the case for the entire offseason.

For now, the team has to give extra reps to some players further down the depth chart, which may not be too bad of a side effect of missing key players. Rookie fifth-round linebacker Dre Greenlaw, for example, got to run with the first-team defense during the start of OTAs. Those are valuable reps for him as he gets acclimated to the defense and his new teammates.

Having players out in OTAs should ensure their health for when preparation for the regular season begins in earnest. That’s a much better time to be healthy than in May, and the 49ers’ willingness to sideline so many players early on may signal a shift in philosophy on the treatment of injuries.

There’s no reason to rush people back into action at this point in the year. While seeing more players out hurt may not be ideal for the 49ers, it could be one of the reasons their health improves through the regular season this year.