The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.
AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets
AFC North: Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers
AFC South: Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers
NFC East: Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South: Falcons | Panthers | Saints | Buccaneers
NFC West: Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks
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2025 season record: 12-5 (o 10.5 wins), third in NFC West, lost to Seahawks in divisional round, 10th in DVOA
Overview
Backing the 49ers going into 2025 was mostly based on two ideas. One, the 49ers were going to be healthier than they were in 2024 when they led the league in adjusted games lost to injuries by a wide margin. Two, as a fourth-place team, San Francisco was also expected to have one of the league’s easiest schedules. A healthy Niners team would be expected to dominate weaker opponents. Neither of those things happened. The 49ers were decimated by injuries almost immediately and by DVOA, the 49ers played the sixth-hardest schedule in the league.
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Still, San Francisco won 12 games and played for the No. 1 seed in the NFC during the regular-season finale, then got a road playoff win at the Eagles. This might have been Kyle Shanahan’s best coaching job. When Brock Purdy went down, Mac Jones was a top-10 quarterback by EPA per play. Then Purdy returned and was the most efficient quarterback in the league by that same metric. Christian McCaffrey was the healthy 49er, somehow, and his impact opened up the passing game for whoever was throwing the ball. The offensive success lifted a defense that had tried its best but couldn’t overcome all the losses, most notably those of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.
[Get more 49ers news: San Francisco team feed]
Backing the Niners again in 2026 could hinge on the same ideas as it did heading into this season — but now there’s proof that if things don’t break the right way, it might not matter.
Cap/cuts outlook
San Francisco has just under $38.5 million in effective salary cap space, which ranks 10th this offseason, per Over The Cap. The biggest move the 49ers will make is the likely release of Brandon Aiyuk. There were reports during the year that the team voided the future guarantees in the receiver’s contract and Aiyuk did not oppose. Still, for the 49ers to recoup money on the cap, they would need to designate the receiver as a post-June 1 cut. That would free up about $7 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027, with a $21 million dead cap hit in that season. The 49ers could also open up $17 million in cap space with a restructure of Nick Bosa.
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Key pending free agents
WR Jauan Jennings
TE Jake Tonges
DE Yetur Gross-Matos
Jauan Jennings went from plucky seventh-round draft pick to Kyle Shanahan’s third-down pet project to a legitimate every-down receiver. Jennings led the team with nine receiving touchdowns and was second on the team in target share. Tonges stepped up to add another receiving threat in heavier personnel groupings. He caught 4-of-5 end zone targets for touchdowns. Gross-Matos missed time during the season but was a player defensive coordinator Robert Saleh threw inside on passing downs to get a little more juice in the pass rush.
Positional needs
Edge
Guard
Linebacker
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Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams were both lost for the season and the edge depth behind them was nonexistent. Bryce Huff can be a good pass-rush specialist, but his effectiveness diminishes when he has to play a bigger role. The 49ers finished 30th in pressure rate.
Ben Bartch was hurt in Week 2 and then mixed in only as a sub when he returned. Dominick Puni struggled on the right side while both Connor Colby and Spencer Burford had a blown block rate over 5% at left guard, according to Sports Info Solutions.
Fred Warner is a superhero and his impact was felt when he was injured. With Warner on the field, the 49ers ranked 14th in EPA per play. That dropped to 28th without him. Even with Warner on the field, the Niners could use more depth at linebacker behind or with Dee Winters.
2026 NFL Draft picks
1st round, pick No. 27
2nd round, pick No. 58
3rd round, pick No. 92
4th round
4th round (projected compensatory)
4th round (projected compensatory)
5th round (projected compensatory)
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What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?
Officially turn the page
Usually, playoff losses, especially as we get deeper into the postseason, inspire some long think pieces about why a team fell short and what it says about their operation. For the 49ers, this was simply an inferior team, largely thanks to a bounty of injuries, that punched above its weight all season but finally ran out of gas against the best team in football.
As long as Kyle Shanahan is the head coach and architect of the offense, this will be a good ecosystem worth investing in. The fact that they made it this far with this banged-up roster is proof. People still have big feelings about Brock Purdy but he had some excellent moments late in the season once he got healthy and shook off the rust. That’s a great foundation combination. We can just expect the pieces orbiting the head coach and quarterback to look different as the 49ers continue to turn the page from their excellent past toward a future that they hope will feature many more contending teams. — Matt Harmon
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Good draft fit
Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
The 49ers’ defense is in decent shape barring yet another heinous run of injuries. (That can’t happen again, right? Right?) So they should focus on protecting Brock Purdy, and Freeling would make a great understudy for 37-year-old Trent Williams. Freeling is an explosive athlete who can anchor well and has cleaned up mistakes over his college career.
Betting nugget
The 49ers had the easiest schedule as measured by preseason opponent win totals in the NFL, which helped them get to 12 regular-season wins. San Francisco also took care of business in games it was supposed to win, going 10-1 straight up (8-2-1 against the spread) as a favorite. — Ben Fawkes
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