When the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, many believed the Niners championship window was still open.
When the 49ers lost to the Chiefs again in Super Bowl LVIII, many still believed the Niners championship window was still open.
Yet, after a handful of departures from the roster this offseason… is there actual reason to believe the Super Bowl window has finally closed for the San Francisco 49ers?
John Lynch has certainly had his fair share of hits and missed during his time as the general manager in San Francisco. His move to bring in Christian McCaffrey from Carolina saw this offensive unit become one of the most efficient scoring machines in recent memory back in 2023.
Unfortunately, the Niners caught a major case of the injury bug last season and has since seen the organization significantly overhaul the roster this offseason.
In just the last few months, the 49ers have parted ways with Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Jordan Mason, Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins, Aaron Banks, and Charvarius Ward. The loss of these impact players feel like financial decisions in order to clear the way for the expected upcoming contract extension for QB Brock Purdy.
Does this mean this 49ers roster is completely devoid of talent? Absolutely not. When you still have McCaffrey, Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, and Nick Bosa on the roster — it is hard to say your Super Bowl window has definitively closed — but the loss of a handful of starting caliber players should be enough to question the expectations we should put on this roster for 2025.
In some ways, this is a perfect case study for how an organization can surround a young quarterback with expensive talent while he is on a rookie deal, but would immediately have to part ways with multiple starters once the franchise has to pay market value for their signal caller.
Purdy wasn’t awful in 2024, but his efficiency did drop considerably last season with injuries to McCaffrey and Aiyuk. He threw a career-high 12 interceptions and lost a career-high three fumbles once the offense asked him to shoulder a bit more of the offensive load.
The Niners could use some help at offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback entering the 2025 NFL draft. It will be interesting to see how John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan attack this draft with a handful of productive veterans still on the roster expecting to compete for a championship this season.
