Injury updates and more from Jim Tomsula before the first padded practice of #C4M9: http://t.co/p34QckzsZp. pic.twitter.com/NkCFL5r93p
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 5, 2015
Then, San Francisco’s players started leaving. In March it was linebacker Patrick Willis who retired. His apparent replacement, Chris Borland, retired a week later – at the age of 24. A couple months later, Justin Smith retired after 14 years in the league, leaving a big hole on the defensive line. A month after that, offensive tackle Anthony Davis retired at the age of 25. Running back Frank Gore – the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher – headed to Indianapolis as a free agent. Guard Mike Iupati and wide receiver Michael Crabtree all took free-agent deals elsewhere too. Rumors started swirling that quarterback Colin Kaepernick might be traded.


