The San Francisco 49ers experienced a major regression in the 2024 season. Fresh off clinching the NFC for the second time in the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch era, they were expected to continue contending, only for injuries and poor play to sink them to last place at 6-11 and a playoff absence.
During the offseason, multiple key contributors left, including Pro Bowlers Deebo Samuel, Javon Hargrave, Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga. However, others like Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are still with the team.
Former DB Logan Ryan said the team is good enough to return to contention in 2025. He said on Monday's episode of CBS Sports HQ:
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He continued:
"(McCaffrey) is a guy that does all the right things. He trains so hard, some people might think it's too hard. But I know he's doing everything he can to get back to this. And if he is healthy, the system goes around Christian McCaffrey."49ers' defense has much to prove in 2025
One major reason for the 49ers' regression in 2024 was their poor defensive performance. While injuries to Javon Hargrave and Talanoa Hufanga did not help, the team generally struggled to prevent other teams from scoring points, especially when the opposing offense faced a third down (24th).
This has led to a 26th position in defense rankings. However, he has some hope for the unit, which has seen some new additions like rookies Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins and Super Bowl-winning trade acquisition Bryce Huff:
"There are certainly pieces in place to return this team to average, if not better, on this side of the ball."Their season begins at the Seattle Seahawks on September 7. Kickoff is at 4:05 pm ET on Fox.
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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash