San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is finally starting to feel comfortable with his roster's depth. His team has had unfortunate luck with injuries over the past two seasons. The team was going through a massive rebuild and couldn't compensate for the losses.
Shanahan is hopeful this year will be different. Of course, ideally, he hopes there are no significant injuries. However, it's unrealistic to assume a team will remain completely healthy through a rigorous 16-game season.
Should the 49ers be struck with injuries, Shanahan believes they are better prepared to overcome any losses.
"It's the first year that we can overcome injuries, and you have to be in that situation," Shanahan said. "Everybody's going to get hurt, and you can always get lucky regardless of what happens. We expect to have injuries. That's part of football. But I definitely am a lot more confident going into this year, if that does happen. We have guys who have experience, and we also have guys who have some talent who can step in and help us out."
The 49ers haven't been healthy this offseason. While some players are recovering from previous injuries, others, like running back Matt Breida and rookie pass rusher Nick Bosa, were unexpected losses.
Shanahan expects many of those injured players to be full-go for training camp. He's had to find a balance between getting his team the work it needs while also getting and keeping it healthy.
"You want people who work year-round," Shanahan said. "You want people who know how to take care of themselves. You want people who know how to get in football shape. The only way to get better at football is to get reps at it, which is probably almost anything in life. You need reps to get better at stuff."
Unlike basketball or football, Shanahan knows it is difficult to simulate an NFL game during practices.
"That's why you've got to do it over and over again," Shanahan continued. "It's tough because we don't do it much. We have certain rules where you can't practice as long, so it's very important for these guys to take care of themselves year-round."
That includes staying conditioned during the team's upcoming six weeks off before training camp. Relaxing during that time is a sure way to get injured once practices pick up again.
"If you think you can just take 30 days off and stuff, you are going to be in such a rude awakening," Shanahan added.