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SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco 49ers have been riddled with injuries in recent years, and there’s a theory as to why.
A viral theory, though unproven, states that the 49ers’ unusually high number of soft tissue and non-contact injuries may be due to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from a large electrical substation next to their practice fields and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The claim is that being around it for years can weaken tendons and soft tissue, leading to more ACL tears, Achilles injuries, hamstring strains and similar problems.
Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Brock Purdy, Dre Greenlaw and several others have suffered serious injuries over the past few years, adding traction to the theory. Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl two years ago, and Kittle tore his Achilles last month in the playoffs.
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Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers goes down after a tackle during a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Orchard Park, NY (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
McCaffrey missed all but four games with Achilles tendinitis and a knee injury last season, but isn’t worried one bit.
“Dude, I’m not a scientist and I’m not a doctor. Look, we play anywhere. You know, for us, I think these are things that a lot of people smarter than me can talk about,” McCaffrey told Pakinomist Digital on the radio set.
“All I know is, you know there’s too many variables in football to just say something like that is the cause of injuries. I mean, you can do everything right and bad things can still happen, so.”
Purdy was mum about the whole situation.
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is carted off the field in the second quarter of an NFC wild-card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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“I don’t really know what to think about it. You know, I think people do their research on it and what not, but you know, for me, I have no idea,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to continue to practice there. Obviously, it’s my job and I love the Niners. So yeah, I don’t have a choice.”
Linebacker Fred Warner, who missed time this season, had a different feeling. He’s “ignoring it for now,” but said he thinks some research might need to be done.
“I think obviously, since it’s been such a hot topic, there’s going to be more research done on it to see exactly if anything comes of it. But I think it’s been there for so long that obviously we had the injuries that we did this last season, especially the high-profile players. So it was like a hot topic, basically, and we’ll see what comes of it,” Warner.
Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers is carted off the field after being injured in the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Tampa, Fla. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The 49ers have said they will look into what caused the increase in injuries, including the EMF theory.
