The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a sorely disappointing 7-10 season. They entered the campaign as one of the top Super Bowl contenders after falling just short against the Kansas City Chiefs last February.
Everything that could go wrong seemingly went wrong for Kyle Shanahan’s squad. Reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey played just four games due to a multitude of injuries. All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL seven games in.
The likes of Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Charvarius Ward also missed time to injury.
This can’t be used as an excuse. But it did define what was one of the most disappointing seasons of the Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch tenure.
San Francisco must now turn its attention to an offseason that will have wide-ranging ramifications as it relates to keeping the team’s Super Bowl window slightly ajar. Here, I look at five keys to a successful offseason in Santa Clara.
This must be the first order of business once the calendar flips to March. Purdy is eligible for an extension for the first time in his career. While he did take a minor step back this past season after being an MVP finalist as a sophomore in 2023, Purdy is still a franchise guy.
He’s also 4-2 in the postseason, having led the 49ers to two NFC Championship Game appearances and a Super Bowl.
Market volatility at the quarterback position around the NFL will play a role in contract talks. I am predicting that Purdy will become the second highest-paid player in the league behind Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. That is to say, a five-year contract worth $287.5 million.
General manager John Lynch and Co. need to get this done before Purdy enters his contract year in 2025. It’s that simple.
San Francisco 49ers Must Create More NFL Salary Cap Room
Over the Cap currently projects the 49ers to have $46.51 million in cap space this offseason. That’s certainly not a bad number. Depending on how the Purdy contract is structured, that could go down a nice amount.
Financial flexibility ahead of the 2025 NFL season will play a huge role in the 49ers’ ability to keep their championship window open. The expectation is that multiple players will restructure their contracts in order to make this a reality. We saw that a lot last offseason in Santa Clara.
