Rams rival has too many questions to justify former player's brazen claim

Welcome to the silly stage of the NFL offseason. Much like the lull before other significant events like free agency and the draft, the down period before training camp brings out the most controversial takes. But co-host Manti Te'o's take on "Good Morning Football" is about as far out on a limb as fans have heard in quite some time.

"This offense (49ers), it's the most dangerous in that (NFC West) division"

Manti Te'o

Te'o, a former NFL linebacker, is very impressed by the Niners' newfangled offense. And he has reason to be. Riddled with injuries last season, San Francisco still finished 10th in scoring and seventh in yards.

With perennial injury concerns and some key roster losses, however, the 2026 Niners offense is fraught with questions.

49ers offense has more questions than answers

San Francisco did make an effort to restock after losing leading receiver Jauan Jennings, WR2 Kendrick Bourne, and RB2 Brian Robinson Jr. They did well enough at wideout by signing former Buccaneers star Mike Evans as well as Christian Kirk. The theme of San Fran's free agency, though, seemed to be buying injured veterans at steep discounts in hopes of getting a bounce-back season.

Two of this year's six presumed starters were imported from other teams. Only one of them played more than 11 games last season. Running back Christian McCaffrey was the lone 49ers offensive star to play all 17, and he has sadly become one of the NFL's more injury-prone players. Counting on him to do it again could be risky.

Here is how San Francisco's 2026 playmakers fared in 2025:

• QB Brock Purdy | 9 games played | 2,167 passing yards | 20 touchdowns | 10 interceptions
• WR Mike Evans (with the Buccaneers) | 8 games played | 368 receiving yards | 3 touchdowns
• WR Ricky Pearsall | 9 games played | 528 receiving yards | 0 touchdowns
• WR Christian Kirk (Texans) | 13 games played | 239 receiving yards | 1 touchdown
• RB Christian McCaffrey | 17 games played | 1,202 rushing yards - 10 TDs | 924 receiving yards - 7 TDs
• TE George Kittle | 11 games played | 628 receiving yards | 7 touchdowns

Notably, McCaffrey, the 49ers' primary contributor, was taxed with 932 offensive snaps; the last two times he played at least 800 snaps in a season, he did not make it to 200 the following year.

No one wants to see anyone injured, but that's the reality of McCaffrey's health history and, more generally, of the health concerns across San Fran's roster. And it could spell trouble galore for the Niners. Even if the team bubble-wraps McCaffrey to ensure similar production, the offense will rely heavily upon multiple players beating the odds to be available for 17 games.

Backup quarterback Mac Jones was quite competent last season and was one of the main reasons the offense remained effective. San Francisco will expect a boost if Purdy stays healthy, but how much of one will the team actually get?

The way Jones stepped smoothly into his shoes last year raises questions over how much higher, if much at all, Purdy can lift the Niners compared to what Jones was able to do.

While the Rams have injury concerns of their own, all starters return in 2026 for last season's top-scoring offense. Meanwhile, the dynamic running-back duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum ran circles around the 49ers' McCaffrey-led rushing attack last year.

Questions surround every starting playmaker in San Fran's offense. For the 49ers to unseat the Rams as the NFL's top unit, every domino must fall the right way. LA simply needs to follow last season's same track.

You decide. Odds are, you'll see things differently than Te'o.

As always, thanks for reading.

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