The 49ers have had the weirdest offseason in the NFL, and it’s not even close

The San Francisco 49ers are a weird team. Every year they have 10-plus injuries that have started a conspiracy theory about their proximity to an electrical substation, they took a bust at quarterback No. 3 overall, only to find a franchise QB with the Mr. Irrelevant pick the following year, while also getting into a spat with their two top receivers, letting one walk who they later brought back, while the guy they decided to keep became such a nuisance that he quit the team.

This offseason has been on an entirely different level for the Niners, even by their standard of having a penchant for the bizarre. Welcome to the greatest hits of 2026 for the 49ers, if you haven’t been following along.

No. 1: The Kyle Shanahan car crash

When Kyle Shanahan wrecked his car just before training camp opened it would have been easy to think this was the weirdest thing that would happen to them this offseason. Instead it was only the third weirdest thing.

Shanahan swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle, and what ensued defied belief. There was a cover-up seemingly aided by local police, who initially blamed an innocent student for causing the accident despite it being clear it was 100-percent Shanahan’s fault, then reversed course and said it was a “clerical error.” It was at this time he held a closed-doors meeting with a select group of trusted reporters to clear the air and accept blame, saying that he had dropped his phone and was searching for it under his seat when the accident happened.

This wasn’t even the whole truth either, as it was later revealed that Shanahan was covering things up too — for Tesla autopilot? It wasn’t until August 8th that he admitted his car was in autopilot when the accident happened, or he thought it was, but didn’t know if he accidentally disengaged it. There are still questions about what the heck happened, and why — especially considering the police waited 11 days to reveal any information about the accident, and even then it appears that Palo Alto PD were in contact with the 49ers organization, essentially allowing the team to control how and when any information was released about the crash.

No. 2: Jed York solicits sex at an Ohio trailer park

Rich people are so dang weird. 49ers owner and CEO Jed York is part of a family with an estimated net worth of $8.5B, but on August 23rd he was arrested in the parking lot of a mobile home community in East Palestine, Ohio for trying to solicit sex for $140.

York was arrested by a human trafficking task force after he responded multiple times to a fake ad with a person he believed was a sex worker, but in reality was an undercover police agent. York used the pseudonym “Joe” during conversations with the officer, where he solicited sex and the pair arranged to meet in a residential parking lot, where he was arrested.

Even local police were stunned, initially assuming he was a “real estate guy,” and quipping that he has so much money but didn’t understand why he was soliciting a woman for $140.

Now the NFL is looking into the situation as a violation of the personal conduct policy. It’s unclear what, if any, role York will be allowed to have with the 49ers in 2026 or beyond.

No. 3: A fake 49ers player scams women out of $1.3M

The hits just kept on coming for San Francisco with the announcement last week that a man pretending to be a 49ers player had run a fraud scheme that resulted in 26 women getting scammed out of a total of $1.3M by Daejon Love, a 35-year-old who pretended to be a player on dating apps in order to meet potential scam victims.

Love rented luxury cars, posing in them wearing 49ers gear, and sending photos to women explained that he was in training camp, and even sending videos of the worst workouts you have ever seen — all to sell the myth that he was an NFL player.

After convincing the women he was an NFL player, Love would then direct them to 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan, his partner in crime, who posed as his financial advisor and confidant. At this point women would give their money to the “advisor” as an investment — which was used by the pair.

Is it the 49ers fault this happened? Absolutely not. Was something like this bound to happen by a player in a 49ers jersey? Of course. If something odd happens in the NFL there’s a better-than-even chance it’s going to somehow involve the Niners.

Now we wait to see how weird the regular season can get for them.