In 2023, the San Francisco 49ers made a deep run in the postseason for the third straight year, this time falling to the Kansas City Chiefs, 25-22, in the Super Bowl. So, when it came to starting the offseason program last year, it’s no surprise that the players weren’t exactly excited to get going again.
That feeling got the 49ers off on the wrong and foot before the combination of injuries and poor play and coaching led them to a 6-11 record and a last place finish in the NFC West for the first time since the 2020 season.
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While playing the postseason is a top priority for any team, San Francisco finally got to rest, and with that head coach Kyle Shanahan has higher expectations for his players than he did in 2024.
“I talked about how the season ended the year before and how when I felt them all come back, I felt guys weren’t ready to come back,” Shanahan told ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “But I told them how I won’t really understand it this year. Not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn’t comprehend it. We’re off five weeks earlier.”
The 49ers are entering 2025 with a different roster after moving on from some key players, and bringing in a slew of new guys through free agency and the NFL draft. They also have the easiest schedule in the league based on projected win totals from Vegas oddsmakers.
San Francisco will also get back some difference-makers who missed significant time last year due to injury, including Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. If that trio can be healthy and on the field for most of the season, the offense should be better than it was last year.
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These factors should set the 49ers up to climb in the standings in 2025, and with minicamp finishing up this week, they better get after their work with the fire and intensity that Shanahan deems acceptable.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Shanahan isn’t accepting early fatigue from 49ers in offseason