The mood could have been worse among San Francisco 49ers players Saturday night following their 41-6 season-ending drubbing at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. But it wasn't, due in part to the reflections that were made on what the team accomplished in 2025 and what lies ahead.
Sure, there was disappointment over the loss and the missed opportunity to play a Super Bowl game in their home stadium. But considering the road the 49ers took to get to Saturday's Divisional Playoff game at Lumen Field in Seattle — overcoming an injury-plagued season to finish 12-5, then upsetting the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round -- there was a silver lining amid the dark clouds surrounding the loss.
"A couple hours ago, we were one of eight teams left in the NFL," fullback Kyle Juszczyk told reporters in the locker room after the game. "When you're in that position, your goal is to win the Super Bowl. We didn't accomplish that goal. But I think any of us, going back to the offseason, the beginning of the year, would say that we accomplished a lot of goals."
The attitude the 49ers players had towards the 2025 season was similar across the board -- that it was an enjoyable one, largely due to the determination the team had despite losing player after player to injury.
"Honestly, it's just been a fun year for me," Juszczyk said. "It's just been a fun group to go to battle with, go to work with every day. Everyone's had such a positive attitude, no matter the circumstances. It's just fun to play with other guys that will put absolutely everything on the line because that gives you confidence to do so yourself."
We'll have more player reflections on 2025 in this version of 49ers Notebook, plus we'll find out why the team's rookies make the veterans excited about 2026. We'll also hear what Kyle Shanahan said (or didn't say) about what happened between him and cornerback Renardo Green during the Seahawks loss and more. Let's get started...
Happy year for Trent Williams
2024 wasn't exactly a high point in the career of left tackle Trent Williams, who joined the team late that year after a holdout before missing time due to injury during the season. Williams played in just 10 games in 2024 and was passed over for the Pro Bowl -- a rarity in his Hall of Fame career.
Things went better this season for Williams, who played in 16 games and made his return to the Pro Bowl roster, along with being selected as a second-team All-Pro. The 37-year-old Williams told reporters Saturday that the season was a special experience due to the odds the team overcame.
"It was extremely special to me just because I've never been a part of a program — well, part of a team — that was so behind the 8-ball but just found a way to compete every week," Williams said. "We went up against so many rosters that were fully loaded while we were playing with guys that we got a week ago, two weeks ago. Some guys signed at the beginning of the season, some guys signed in the middle of the season. So, the fact that we were able to get to this part of the season, Divisional Round in the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to get in the NFC Championship, we were extremely short-handed, so, I'm just proud of this team, man."
Williams confirmed after the game he'd be back for at least one more season, and it sounds like he's looking forward to seeing what it will bring.
"We had a lot of young guys that contributed a lot to our success, and they have really, really bright futures," Williams said. "I'm super proud of this team. Obviously, it ain't go the way we wanted to, but the future is really bright."
Rookies, other young players add to 2026 excitement
Williams wasn't the only one on Saturday night who expressed optimism about next season due to the team's young players. Others to join in on that optimism included linebacker Fred Warner, whose season-ending injury opened the door for linebacker Tatum Bethune to establish himself at the position. Bethune was one of many players Warner was impressed with while watching from the sidelines.
"It was fun to see the guys fight and a lot of young players stepping up into different roles," Warner said. "I'm sure they weren't expecting to play this early and as many meaningful minutes as they did. I think it was super beneficial for a lot of the guys to have played, and played well for us this year, going into next year on a great foot."
Among the members of the 2025 draft class to get significant playing time throughout the season were defensive tackle and second-round pick Alfred Collins; cornerback and third-round pick Upton Stout. Defensive lineman and first-round pick Mykel Williams was in the lineup early in the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, while safety and fifth-round pick Marques Sigle saw significant snaps early and late. Offensive lineman and seventh-round pick Connor Colby saw time early in the year, while defensive tackle C.J. West came on down the stretch.
"You look at guys like Stout, you look at guys like Sigle, you look at (Alfred) Collins, you look at CJ," Williams said. "Obviously even Mykel played — I mean, he was a starter before he went down. You get on the offensive side of the ball, we had Connor Colby in there playing early; he did a lot for us. So those guys with their expanded role, they did great in that. And obviously we won 13 games, so I think that kind of tells it all right there. But they just give you a lot of hope, man. They came in, they bought into the culture, and the way they approach every day is just — you know, we're lucky to have a rookie class that can contribute like they did."
Guard Dominick Puni, who was one of the standouts from the 2024 draft class, said this year's rookies will combine with last year's draft class to create a strong foundation for the future.
"It's a good sign. We had a lot of young guys step up," Puni said. "I think back to our rookie class last year having to play a lot. The rookies this year and our class in the same light got a lot of reps. You combine that with the guys that are coming back next year -- the vets, the star players -- we'll be a dangerous team."
Running back Christian McCaffrey said of the team's young players, "(I'm) really proud of them. Really proud of them and excited to watch them in the future because there's extreme upside. To get that experience as a young player on this team is extremely valuable. So proud of every single one of them and love them."
Parting words?
Injuries forced the 49ers to bring in a number of players, as Williams mentioned, and give them extensive minutes after short notice. One of those players was wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, whose familiarity with the 49ers helped him fit in well after starting his career with the franchise.
It's possible, however, that Saturday's game marked the second farewell for Bourne in the Bay Area. After signing with the New England Patriots in free agency in 2021 following a four-year stint with the 49ers, Bourne returned in September on a one-year deal to help a depleted receiver unit and finished with 37 catches for 551 yards.
Perhaps the 49ers could wind up keeping the 30-year-old Bourne around past this year, but if not, he's at least happy to have gotten one more go-round in the Bay Area.
"I love John (general manager John Lynch) and Kyle giving me an opportunity," Bourne said. "I always think about it it. I started here, and to come back and be plug and play was awesome for me. I'm thankful for the environment, being around Brock (Purdy) — an ultimate competitor -- being around a lot of the guys, it's a natural energy here. It was easy, so I'm just thankful for that op."
Mustapha assesses his season
2025 started with a bump in the road for second-year safety Malik Mustapha, who started the season on the PUP list while recovering from an ACL injury. But he returned to the lineup in October and ended up being satisfied with the final result.
"I'm proud of our guys, especially me coming in later in the year, being able to kind of just get thrown in there with them," said Mustapha, who finished with 76 tackles and three tackles for loss in 12 games. "I was eager to get on the field with those guys because you could just see the fight that our team had. You could see the resilience. You could see new guys that came in, rookies that came in that were bought in. And it's a special group that I was able to be a part of this year. It's just difficult because you're not able to keep this thing going with them anymore, but I'm just grateful for the organization. I'm grateful for the guys I shared the field with this year. I'm grateful for the staff that even helped me get back on the field. I'm just grateful for a lot of things. This season definitely wasn't a disappointment, just another learning curve."
Nothing to see here
Television cameras caught 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan seemingly upset with cornerback Renardo Green during Saturday's loss to the Seahawks, but he didn't have much to say about it after the game.
The exchange happened towards the end of the first quarter.
Kyle Shanahan pissed off at Renardo Green.
He was really letting him hear it, after the 49ers go down 17-0 🤦?♂? pic.twitter.com/9ZvSmMXgUm
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 18, 2026
"Yeah, nothing in particular, just coaching him on a certain play, certain technique, and just coaching aggressively," Shanahan said.
Green sat out for a short time, but Shanahan suggested it wasn't anything disciplinary.
"We pulled him over to try to talk to him about a certain coverage, and then we got him right back in," Shanahan said.
Toe in the clear
Brock Purdy confirmed Saturday night what has been obvious over the second half of the season, which is that the turf toe that sidelined him earlier in the year hasn't been a problem recently.
That said, Purdy did tell reporters he'd have to work on it some more after the season.
"I'm in a good spot with that," Purdy said. "For me to go out and play the way I need to play, obviously the way I can run around, scramble and things, I don't think about (it). Obviously I'm doing my rehab and stuff with it still and I will in the offseason, but I feel really good with that. So I'm good."
Purdy was strong for much of the stretch run of the regular season but had a game to forget against the Seahawks, finishing with 140 yards on 15-of-27 passing with one interception and one lost fumble while frequently dealing with pressure.
"No one played perfect, no one played great today," Shanahan said. "No one coached great today. I mean, they got us pretty good. But I thought Brock made a number of plays out there. But in the second half, it got away from all of us."
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