San Francisco spent part of its offseason chasing one of the stranger storylines to come out of an injury-riddled NFL year, and John Lynch said the 49ers now have an answer.
Speaking Sunday at the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Lynch said the club hired an independent scientist to examine whether the electrical substation next to the team’s practice facility in Santa Clara had anything to do with the wave of injuries that hammered the roster in 2025. The conclusion, according to Lynch, was direct and left little room for the internet to keep freelancing as a medical journal.
“We did hire an independent scientist, and he basically [said] it was a big nothing burger. We’re safe,” Lynch said. “We’re in a safe place of work. The levels are—I think I read in there—400 times less than unsafe zones, so it’s a normal place of work, it’s a normal gym. We are safe, we’re healthy, and we feel really good about that.”
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The study centered on a theory that had picked up real traction around the team after another season defined by injuries, roster disruption and questions about why San Francisco keeps ending up on the wrong side of health reports. The idea was that electromagnetic fields from the nearby substation could be contributing to the problem. Lynch said the team brought in an outside expert and had the facility checked with “lab-grade equipment.” The 49ers did not publicly identify the scientist, but reporting on the review said the expert had 45 years of EMF research experience.
Lynch also said the issue did not become a stumbling block in free agency. According to him, none of the players the 49ers pursued asked about the substation during negotiations this offseason. That mattered for a franchise trying to stabilize its roster after a year in which injuries again became part of the weekly conversation.
The concern was not invented out of nowhere. Lynch had already said after the season that the organization planned to look into everything tied to its injury problems, including the substation theory. The discussion gained more attention in February when George Kittle publicly said he wanted the team to make sure the substation was not a factor, and Kyle Juszczyk also wanted the club to check on it. Kittle said a veteran first pointed out the issue to him in 2017, and he referenced trees near the area that appeared to fuel suspicion inside the building even if no hard proof existed.
That background helps explain why the 49ers treated the matter seriously instead of laughing it off in public. Lynch said the club viewed it as part of a broader responsibility to players, coaches and staff. “That was important to us, to not just turn a blind eye but to look into it because it’s our players’ wellness,” Lynch said. “It’s not just our players, it’s coaches, staff, all that. It’s encouraging. I felt like it would be that way, but it’s encouraging that it came out in a good place.”
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Even with the substation theory now shelved, the larger injury issue is not going away. San Francisco ranked third in games missed by starters in 2025, and the franchise has repeatedly landed near the top of the league in adjusted games lost because of injuries. The club also received poor marks in the NFLPA report card for its training staff and facilities, adding another layer to the conversation about how the organization handles player health and recovery.
Lynch said the team has already started making changes. The 49ers are investing $9 million in facility upgrades, expanding hydrotherapy resources and adding three physical therapists in an effort to improve individualized care. That is a far more conventional fix than blaming a power installation, but it is also the part of the story that will matter most if San Francisco expects to look like a contender again instead of a weekly triage report.
For now, the official team position is settled. The substation was checked. The theory was tested. The result, in Lynch’s words, was a “big nothing burger.” The 49ers still have an injury problem to solve, but they say the answer is not sitting next to the practice field humming in plain sight.
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