Aug. 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m.
PT
The San Francisco 49ers open 2026 hoping to hold serious ground in a loaded NFC West, but a rash of injuries, aging stars, and off-field distractions involving owner Jed York have at least one prominent analyst sounding an alarm. On Monday’s episode of The Herd, Colin Cowherd said he believes San Francisco is close to driving off a cliff, comparing the team to Thelma and Louise.
His skepticism centers on the roster’s age and its reliance on veterans working back from surgery in the wake of bad drafting. “This is an old, old team, oldest roster in the NFL, and almost all their old guys are coming off serious surgeries,” Cowherd said.
“They are really dependent on five older players: Trent Williams, left tackle, he’s 38. Kittle, going to be a Hall of Famer, coming off surgery. Nick Bosa, coming off his second surgery. Christian McCaffrey led the NFL in touches. Mike Evans, who is often banged up, though I love him and Fred Warner off a surgery as well.”
With Deebo Samuel’s return, the Niners are positioned to start five non-quarterback skill players age 30 or older — a group size matched by only a handful of teams in Super Bowl-era history, none of which found much postseason success doing it. Cowherd also pointed to the team’s recent draft misses, which track with the numbers: since 2020, San Francisco’s first-round picks have graded among the NFL’s worst, anchored by the Trey Lance trade-up disaster.
San Francisco gets a hard landing to open the year against the rival Los Angeles Rams in Australia, but returns to the mainland United States with a soft schedule that includes the Dolphins and Cardinals. However, a brutal stretch against Seattle and Denver comes right after. Whether the Niners can bank enough wins early to survive the back half may determine if Cowherd’s cliff analogy holds or not in 2026.
