It's been a week that fans of the San Francisco 49ers won't soon forget. After watching the team cut some popular players and fail to sign many of its own free agents while seemingly not doing much to improve the team, the fanbase has been a little traumatized over the past six days. But Saturday morning started with some positive news: fullback Kyle Juszczyk is re-signing with the 49ers.
And there's a lot of off-season remaining, so it's too early to panic. Still, some fans are, so we have a brand-new edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag to ease your troubled mind. So, let's all hold hands, think some happy thoughts, and jump right in.
What's your gut feeling - is BA a draft-day trade? - William S.
I still don't believe Brandon Aiyuk will be traded this offseason. I find it hard to believe another team will trade for a player who is not guaranteed to help them very much in 2025. I also find it difficult to believe the 49ers will go into the season with Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall as their top-two wideouts, though they signed veteran Demarcus Robinson.
The off-season is still young, so a lot can happen, but I believe Aiyuk will be with the 49ers in 2025.
Between trading away Samuel for a pittance (and absorbing a massive amount of dead money), rumors regarding trading Aiyuk after we just extended him, and letting many of our free agents walk, plus the impending retirement of Trent Williams (my hunch: 2024 was his last season, regardless of what he or anyone else says), along with the general age of our roster, this feels like a rebuild called by any other name. Furthermore, why would Purdy want to remain in SFO with that much uncertainty on his side of the ball? - Tony M.
Brock Purdy wants to remain in San Francisco because this is still where Kyle Shanahan is. And Purdy knows that Shanahan's offense is perfect for his skill set. Plus, he still has some weapons, namely George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.
The 49ers took a chance on Purdy, and he seems like a loyal guy who would be willing to take a chance on them, despite all that's going on around him. Also, if a new contract is worked out, and I believe it will be, there will be between 50 to 60 million more reasons for him to stay with the 49ers.
I believe Trent Williams is returning for the 2025 season, but it wouldn't shock me if this is his final one. He's missed several games over the past few years, and I'm sure that starts to catch up with you after a while.
What the hell is going on? Rebuilding?? We have lost everyone! - Kenny T.
Here's why I'm not overly concerned:
- The only player that I was hoping to see return was Dre Greenlaw. Especially with what those free agents were paid.
- The 49ers went 6-11 last year. Changes needed to be made.
- They didn't lose everyone. Juszczyk is returning.
- If Shanahan and John Lynch can build a Super Bowl contender from nothing, they can rebuild it with some key players remaining. They still have several Pro Bowlers on the team.
It's my kid's birthday this weekend, and he wants a 49ers jersey. What's the "safest" jersey option? - Chris W.
Here are some ideas for player jerseys:
- Some good choices would be jerseys of the legends like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young. Those will never be outdated. If your kid doesn't know who those players are, you should reevaluate your priorities as a parent. Lock him in a room with an old VCR, and have him watch all five of the Super Bowl wins. It will be good for him to see a 49ers team that actually wins those games.
- If you're looking for current players, Purdy is a safe bet. And it seems like Jake Moody may be a safe bet, too.
- If you have an old Jimmy Garoppolo jersey, perhaps you can put duct tape over Garoppolo's name on the back and write in Mac Jones's last name. Just a thought.
I get the rebuild aspect, but why in the hell do we still have Moody?! - Agustin V.
Why hasn't Moody been let go? - Lakia M.
Why are we handing away all this talent and still have Jake Moody in red and gold? - Rachel J.
Wow, multiple shots taken at Moody in this mailbag. Jim Harbaugh would be so disappointed to read this. Who's got it better than us Jake Moody?
I expect the 49ers to bring in some competition. It will be good for Moody to be tested. They appear to be convinced that his struggles in 2024 were due to the injury. Maybe they should have shut him down for the season. But they didn't, and he didn't look good. Meanwhile, his replacements looked better than he did.
They won't give up on their kicker without a fight, though. After all, they used a third-round pick on him.
It really does feel like the Niners are just getting rid of everyone. Who would you consider untouchable on the roster right now? - Andy G.
I believe Purdy, Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner are untouchable. But if this ends up being a true rebuild, then all bets are off. The news about the re-signing of Juszczyk makes me think it's not an actual rebuild.
Either way, I think Purdy is the most likely untouchable.
I'm not crying, you're crying! Give me something to look forward to. Please tell me that Kittle and Warner get extensions. - Lowbridge
It's possible, especially with Kittle. But it depends on what their plan is. Right now, everyone, including the beat writers and insiders who know the team best, is confused by the team's actions. So it's hard to say what the plan is. And without knowing their direction, it's hard to determine what they might do with players like Kittle and Warner.
But I go back to the Juszczyk re-signing. That seems to shed a little light on what they're thinking. They believe they can still compete. And if that's the case, I look for Kittle and Warner to stay around longer.
Now that the Deebo trade is in the books, I was wondering if you think receiver would be significantly more prominent in the Niners' draft philosophy. Many seem to think they'll go OL or DL (which would please me), but Matt M and Matt B both (before the Deebo trade) predicted Tyler Warren. He seems to have a lot of versatility. Do you think there is a greater chance of that and/or they will go receiver much earlier in the draft than they would have a month ago? - Jack S.
I'd be stunned if it's not offensive line or defensive line with pick 11. When I've been pressed for an answer, I've predicted defensive line because they're so thin. But it's a deep draft at defensive line, so maybe they'd go offensive tackle in round one. It just comes down to whether or not they believe any offensive lineman available at 11 is worthy of being picked that high.
I bet they'll draft a wide receiver. But it won't be in round one. And I don't believe they'll pick Tyler Warren at 11, either.
I think many of the players the 49ers were willing to let walk because of injury history. Do you agree? Do you also feel that is why the 49ers did not sign Joey Bosa? - Sasha R.
Yes, I completely agree. I'm certain they wanted Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga back, but they weren't going to exceed the value at which they had them listed. When Greenlaw is healthy, he's a game-wrecker. But he misses too many games because of the way he plays. That's why he's in Denver and not San Francisco. And I believe that's why they weren't willing to overpay for Joey Bosa.
Can 49ers fans really be this dumb? Bill Walsh - "Better to cut a guy a year too soon than a year too late." - William S.
Ouch! As a fan, I'll try not to take offense. But I get what you're saying. A lot of fans are freaking out about the 49ers letting so many key guys get away. But William makes a valid point—and that Bill Walsh guy did, too—it's better to move on from a player a year early than a year late.
It's hard for coaches and GMs to do that, though. Walsh talked about how difficult it was for him, and it hurt some of the relationships he had with players for a while. If Lynch and Shanahan can let go of players a year early, like Walsh did, they'll extend the 49ers' opportunities longer. The question is whether or not they have the stomach to do so.
Regarding Samuel: by trading him, the team removes his salary from its payroll but also loses flexibility because of dead-money hit. Do you have any more details regarding that? Was it wise to trade away a player with that much potential for so little, especially given the cap hit? Not worth $33 million, but worth more than a 5th round pick. Not a loaded question; I'm just curious as to your opinion of the trade-offs. - Tony M.
If Deebo Samuel has a great season in 2025, there will be plenty of people saying the 49ers should have kept him. But he didn't look like the same player last season. At times, he'd look like himself. But much of the season, he couldn't break tackles. And that's one of the things that set him apart.
Is that a sign that he's lost some of his physicality? I don't know. But once he asked for a trade, I'm sure the 49ers were willing to oblige him because they were likely on the fence about how productive he would be moving forward. And I also think they're sick of these receivers demanding trades and acting like divas. Samuel did that in 2022. Aiyuk did it a year ago. And now Samuel was requesting a trade again.
As far as the fifth-round pick they received for Samuel. If they can pull a rabbit out of a hat once again and find another Kittle, Greenlaw, D.J. Reed, or Deommodore Lenoir, then we will all think it was worth it. But that remains to be seen. It may take some time before we know whether or not it was a good idea to move on from Samuel in 2025.
Niners lost Hargave and Collins. Are there any free-agent DT's out there who would be an upgrade? Or will the Niners just focus on the interior during the draft? - Andy G.
It's doubtful that the 49ers will sign or trade for anyone who is much of an upgrade (over Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins) as pass rushers. But they can find a defensive tackle or two who are upgrades over Hargrave and Collins as run defenders. If I were willing to bet, I'd say that the 49ers are more focused on defensive tackles who can stop the run than they are on defensive tackles who merely rush the passer. Stopping the run was the team's most glaring weakness last season. So, I expect free-agent signings to be more in the run-stuffing category. The draft may focus on some pass rushers, but even then, they will be looking for complete players who can stop the run as well.
That's all we have for this edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag. We'll be back with a new one as the off-season rolls along.