San Francisco, CA

NFL offseason power rankings: No. 13 San Francisco 49ers try to forget a nightmare season

Published

5 months ago

July 14, 2025

NFL offseason power rankings: No. 13 San Francisco 49ers try to forget a nightmare season

Nobody knew it at the time, but 90 minutes before the San Francisco 49ers’ season began we got our first tip that everything was about to go wrong.

The 49ers, after a pretty clear manipulation of the injury report, declared Christian McCaffrey inactive for their Week 1 game. That surprised everyone, especially fantasy football managers waiting for their first-round pick to put up some points on Monday night. The 49ers said in the week leading up to the opener that McCaffrey’s Achilles injury wasn’t an issue. The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year didn’t play until Nov. 10 due to that injury.

The 49ers won their first game against the Jets without McCaffrey. But it was the first sign that San Francisco was going to have one of those seasons.

[Get more San Francisco news: 49ers team feed]

The 49ers led in overtime of the Super Bowl months before last season started. They saw the title slip away when Patrick Mahomes led a game-winning drive for the Kansas City Chiefs. That stung, but most of the roster was set to return. The 49ers were in position to get right back to a Super Bowl. They put out the one big fire of the offseason, a Brandon Aiyuk trade tour, when they used the Pittsburgh Steelers to set the market and signed Aiyuk to a huge extension. Everything seemed fine. And McCaffrey’s injury wasn’t a big deal, right?

Sometimes when things go bad in the NFL, they go really bad. The 49ers had the most games lost due to injuries in the NFL by a mile and nearly every position group was affected. The 49ers had the second-most adjusted games lost to injury on offense and the third-most on defense. McCaffrey played in just four games. Aiyuk tore his ACL. Close losses piled up. In a moment that summed up a spiraling season, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to go back into a game against the Rams and then just left the sideline. When the 49ers lost by 28 points to the Packers and 25 points to the Bills in back-to-back weeks, they were 5-7 and effectively finished. A team everyone ranked among the top few in the NFL going into the season went 6-11.

And if the bad vibes ended when the season did, that would have been fine. They didn’t. Deebo Samuel asked for a trade and was shipped to the Washington Commanders. The 49ers lost eight free agents who got at least $10 million per season elsewhere. Money talks in the NFL, which makes it easy to see San Francisco lost a lot of valuable players. Their three biggest free agent additions were all backups (tight end Luke Farrell, quarterback Mac Jones, receiver Demarcus Robinson) at low-cost contracts. The 49ers couldn’t spend much because they were keeping the decks clear for Brock Purdy’s five-year, $265 million extension, which was signed in May. Aiyuk’s recovery from his knee injury seems to be going a bit slow and he could start the season on the physically unable to perform list. Now Jauan Jennings, who’s grown into a valuable contributor at wide receiver, wants a new contract — or a trade. It was a horrible offseason for San Francisco.

And yet, the 49ers built such a deep, talented roster over the past few years that there’s hope for this season. McCaffrey should be back. Purdy is an efficient master of Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Other players like George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are among the best in the NFL at their positions. Shanahan is one of the NFL’s best coaches, and he made a good hire to bring Robert Saleh back as defensive coordinator. BetMGM has the 49ers with one of the highest win totals in the NFL, at 10.5, and it’s justifiable. The 49ers had one of the unluckiest seasons possible, and that won’t repeat. There’s tremendous talent on hand.

It’s just a bit tougher now. Those stars are a year older. The roster took some hits. We can’t be sure if McCaffrey, at age 29, is further beyond his prime than we realize. Last year, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that San Francisco would be one of the best teams in the NFL. Going into this season, it’s hard to know what the 49ers will be.

Offseason grade

The 49ers lost nine players who other NFL teams believed were worth more than $10 million per season: receiver Deebo Samuel, guard Aaron Banks, cornerback Charvarius Ward, offensive tackle Jaylon Moore, safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd and defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins. Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders and the others were free agents. No matter how you want to explain the defections, that’s a lot to lose in one offseason. And San Francisco didn’t add a single impact free agent. The highest-paid free agent addition was tight end Luke Farrell (three years, $15.75 million) who fills a role as a blocking tight end and insurance in case George Kittle goes down, but it’s hard to get too excited. A low-cost trade for pass rusher Bryce Huff, the Eagles’ most expensive free agent addition last season (yes, he got more money than Saquon Barkley) after Huff didn’t fit in Philadelphia could pay off. The draft didn’t get good grades, but pass rusher Mykel Williams was a good value at No. 13 and defensive tackle Alfred Collins (second round) and linebacker Nick Martin (third round) should also help the front seven. When I graded each team’s moves, I ranked the 49ers’ offseason as the worst in the NFL.

Grade: D-

Quarterback report

Brock Purdy is now one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

(Michael Owens via Getty Images)

The debate about whether the 49ers should pay Brock Purdy is over. Not that the team seemed to ever entertain the idea of not paying him. Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million contract with $182.55 million guaranteed. It’s one of the great stories in sports, a former Mr. Irrelevant who now has the fifth-largest contract, in terms of total value, in NFL history.

The next question will be if the 49ers can build a roster around Purdy that can compete for championships. It’s understandable why San Francisco wasn’t going to let Purdy walk. He has been highly efficient running Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. Last season Purdy did post career lows in passer rating, completion percentage, adjusted yards per attempt, touchdown rate and sack rate while delivering a career-high interception rate, but that can be attributed to the attrition around him. However, with Purdy taking up a lot of the salary cap going forward, he’ll have to get used to not being surrounded by a stellar supporting cast.

BetMGM odds breakdown

From Yahoo’s Ben Fawkes: “The era of Brock Purdy being the best QB contract value in the league is over, as Purdy signed his long-awaited extension this offseason. Is the Super Bowl window closing for the 49ers? Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga are gone, but San Francisco has easiest schedule of any team by opposing win total — which helps explain a seemingly high win total of 10.5 at BetMGM. The 49ers are favored in a staggering 15 games this season and in the two games they’re underdogs, it’s only by 1.5 points each. The 49ers are +160 favorites in the NFC West (ahead of the Rams at +185) and -180 favorites to make the postseason. But can they get back to the Super Bowl? They’re 20-to-1 to win it all, tied for the seventh shortest odds.”

Yahoo’s fantasy take

From Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “The market doesn’t know what to do with Christian McCaffrey this year, and I understand. He’s currently the RB6 in Yahoo ADP, typically going in that 10-13 range overall. McCaffrey has missed more than half the season in three of his past five years, but in his last four healthy seasons, he’s been the RB3, RB1, RB2 and RB1 in basic fantasy scoring. It’s ironic that McCaffrey played just four games last year while most of the other signature backs in the league were shockingly healthy. Bottom line, McCaffrey is the biggest boom-or-bust pick in the league. Do you feel lucky?”

Stat to remember

In the 49ers’ final two games last season, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings were laying the groundwork for the 2025 season. They combined for 28 catches, 329 yards and two touchdowns in those final two games. Each of them caught at least six balls in each game. That could be a preview of what’s to come.

Brandon Aiyuk is coming off a major knee injury. When he’ll return and how good he’ll be when he does get back is a mystery. Deebo Samuel is gone. George Kittle is one of the NFL’s best tight ends and if Christian McCaffrey is healthy he’ll get plenty of touches, but the 49ers offense also has to feature Pearsall and Jennings more, especially early in the season. Pearsall was a 2024 first-round pick whose rookie season got off to a slow start after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery. He looked good late. Jennings has generally played well when given the opportunity, and last season he had 975 yards and six touchdowns despite starting just 10 games. He complicated matters some this month by asking for a new contract or trade, so the 49ers have to sort that out. Because together, Pearsall and Jennings should be able to produce early in the season, and if Aiyuk rebounds to his pre-2024 form the 49ers might have one of the best receiver groups in the NFL.

Burning question

Can Robert Saleh boost the 49ers defense?

When Robert Saleh got the New York Jets head coaching job, it was mostly because his defenses in San Francisco were outstanding. The 49ers had a top seven defense in DVOA in Saleh’s final two seasons in San Francisco, and while he didn’t succeed running the Jets, his defenses were among the NFL’s best after a tough first year. Saleh might do well in his second head coaching job — he’s far from the first coach to not overcome a ridiculously bad Jets situation — but he didn’t land a top job this past offseason. It made sense for Saleh and the 49ers, who fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen after one season in that role, to reunite for his second stint running the team’s defense.

The 49ers are undergoing a makeover on that side of the ball. They are projected to have four new starters on defense, and it could be five if rookie Nick Martin beats out Dee Winters at inside linebacker. Saleh is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL and he’s a great fit to guide San Francisco through its transition, even if it’s just for the short term before he gets another shot to be a head coach.

Best case scenario

A Kyle Shanahan offense with Brock Purdy distributing the ball to Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings (if his contract situation is resolved), Ricky Pearsall and (eventually) Brandon Aiyuk should be very good. The defense will look different but has All-Pro talent with Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and Robert Saleh is a proven defensive coach. Seeing the betting market have the 49ers among the top win totals and best Super Bowl odds might be startling after they went 6-11 and had a rough offseason. But bad luck factors like injuries and a 2-6 record in one-score games that sank the 49ers last season won’t repeat and the top-end talent on the roster is undeniable. Also, the 49ers go from the second-toughest schedule in the NFL last season (via DVOA) to one that is projected to be by far the easiest (via Sharp Football Analysis, which uses betting win totals to determine strength of schedule). If everything that went wrong last season does a 180 and goes right this season, the 49ers could win the Super Bowl. That remains their upside.

Nightmare scenario

The 49ers’ roster is more top-heavy after many solid players left this offseason. Trent Williams will be 37 this season, George Kittle will turn 32 in October and Christian McCaffrey is 29, which isn’t young for a running back. If those three Hall of Fame talents slip at once, the offense will suffer, especially if Brandon Aiyuk doesn’t bounce back strong from a torn ACL or the 49ers don’t sort out the Jauan Jennings contract. Some projections believe the 49ers could have a bottom-10 defense, after it struggled badly down the stretch and lost talent in the offseason. Great NFL teams have an expiration date. Championship windows don’t stay open forever. The 49ers can blame injuries for last season’s collapse, but it’s also possible we saw the first signs of a very strong roster falling to the middle of the pack. If the 49ers miss the playoffs again, the next step will be figuring out whether their core is capable of a rebound or if it’s time to blow it up. It would really hurt to say goodbye to this group without it ever winning a Super Bowl.

The crystal ball says

The 49ers were one of the toughest teams in this countdown to figure out. A Super Bowl championship is in their range of outcomes. We also saw a significant downturn last season, and they had the worst offseason of any NFL team. Star players like Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and others become harder to project due to injuries or age. The 49ers will rebound from last season’s nightmare, but not all the way to being one of the NFL’s elite teams. There are too many variables to predict that to happen. They will be an NFC West contender, and that race against the Rams could come down to the final week of the season. Which side of the division race the 49ers fall on could go a long way in determining their future course.

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San Francisco, CA

Oakland Airport’s ‘San Francisco’ rebrand has failed to reverse plunging passenger numbers

Published

6 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Oakland Airport’s ‘San Francisco’ rebrand has failed to reverse plunging passenger numbers

The controversy over the Oakland airport’s addition of San Franisco to its name brought headlines, but not travelers, even during the typically frenzied holiday season.

Passenger traffic at OAK (now officially known as Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport) dropped steeply over the past year, even as air travel nationwide held steady and its rival to the west seeing record numbers.

The naming controversy generated publicity and a tiff with San Francisco International Airport, but not the desired increase in traffic. In the 12 months through September 2025, approximately 8.2 million people passed through OAK for domestic flights — 1.8 million, or 17%, fewer than in the previous year, according to federal data (opens in new tab). Passenger traffic was down 15.5% (opens in new tab) in the first three quarters of 2025.

International travel showed a bump, but with limited routes to only Mexico and El Salvador.

The drop at OAK is happening as domestic travel around the country has remained flat, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (opens in new tab).

In fact, Oakland’s decline in the first half of 2025 was the worst of all 93 major U.S. airports, according to LocalsInsider.com (opens in new tab). The second-sharpest drop was at Chicago’s Midway, which was 12.9% off from the previous year.

The decline in passengers isn’t tied to fewer flights being offered. OAK data shows just 56 fewer so-called “airplane movements” through September compared with last year, a negligible 0.03% decrease out of more than 153,000 flights.

Why the dropoff?

The Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, says people aren’t traveling for work anymore.

“Like all of the industry, the decline at OAK can be attributed to the decline in business travel,” said Kaley Skantz, a port spokesperson.

But Collin Czarnecki, who leads Locals Insider’s research on airlines, ties the troubles to a larger industry trend: the death of the middle-class airport.

“Overall, the ‘why’ is sort of this bigger picture,” he said. “Secondary hubs and midsize airports are seeing a lot of change with low-cost carriers.”

Despite the declines, OAK is moving forward with a major makeover and adding 16 gates because of a previous forecast (opens in new tab) that annual passenger levels would reach 24.7 million in 2038. Current traffic has yet to match 2019 levels.

Meanwhile, for San Francisco’s airport, the outlook is sunny.

With its nonstop flights to the East Coast, Europe, and Asia, SFO is in a different class. The airport showed 5.1% growth in 2025 from 43.5 million to 45.7 million passengers, according to its own data (opens in new tab). SFO also boasted that it had its busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. OAK officials said they lacked the daily data to analyze Thanksgiving traffic.

SFO representatives attribute the gains to the airport’s mix of domestic and international flights and business and leisure travelers.

“Drilling down further, the diversity of our international service is a real advantage, as our fortunes aren’t tied strictly to the performance of one specific market,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.

Business owners near OAK say they don’t get much lift from their proximity to the travel hub. Alan Liang, who owns a Mexican restaurant, a burger joint, a towing company, and an auto repair shop in a plaza along Hegenberger Road, said about 95% of his customers are blue-collar workers with jobs nearby.

“I never came across anyone who said, ‘I’m here in town and came to get a bite,’” said Liang. Crime has scared away customers and led to the closure of chain restaurants like In-N-Out Burger, Black Bear Diner, and Denny’s.

“A few decades ago, Hegenberger primarily benefited from the traffic flow from the airport,” he said. “It’s extremely hard for me to believe that today.”

The fortunes of Oakland’s airport are intertwined with the popularity of Southwest Airlines, which accounts for 83.3% of OAK’s passengers, according to federal statistics. Spirit Airlines had been the airport’s second-largest carrier, with nearly 6% of travelers, but the company in October pulled out of Oakland (opens in new tab), as well as San Jose.

To stabilize its position and grow, OAK should strive to become a hub for a major airline like Delta or American, according to Linchi Kwok, a Cal Poly Pomona professor who specializes in travel and tourism.

“It would bring a lot more traffic and draw customers who are loyal to the airline,” said Kwok. “Everyone can benefit from healthy competition.”

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco’s Union Square sees holiday boost as Winter Walk begins

Published

18 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

San Francisco’s Union Square sees holiday boost as Winter Walk begins

With only 12 days before Christmas, San Francisco is ramping up the holiday spirit. On Saturday evening, they kicked off the Union Square Winter Walk, an outdoor space designed to bring life and customers back to the struggling retail center.

It’s hard not to succeed in business when you can get hundreds of Santa Clauses converging on the area. The annual SantaCon has become the city’s most popular pub crawl, with everyone decked out like Saint Nick.

“We started coming here a couple years ago. You know, get some holiday cheer going,” said one SantCon partier named John. “And it’s just, like, seeing hundreds of Santas on the street, it’s just a sight to see. It’s a fun time, it’s a fun time.”

“I’m very confused,” said his friend Julian Schiano, also in a Santa suit. “I have no idea how this started. They invited me out. I requested the day off, so, had a little bit of fun. But, I have no idea about how this started or anything, but it seemed like a good day to get away from everything.”

“It is so much fun,” said Wendy Solorio from San Jose. “You get to mingle and meet a whole bunch of festive people.”

So, what makes them so festive?

“It’s actually right here,” she said, holding up her drink.

With so many people coming each year, the Union Square Alliance uses it as the kick-off to its Winter Walk festival, which will continue through Christmas Eve. Two blocks of Stockton Street are decked out in blue outdoor turf, with food trucks, pop-up stores and winter-themed photo ops.

“We have records of Winter Walk from 2016, where it was holiday decor, and the turf was out here,” said Holly Chiao with the Alliance, “but it’s really grown to what it is now in 2025. And we’re so happy with how it turned out.”

It actually started in the 2014 Christmas season when someone got the simple idea of closing off the street and covering it in green artificial turf. They were amazed at how much fun people were having with just a wide-open place to play. And now they’ve carried the idea on to become a bona fide holiday tradition.

“Look around,” said Chiao. “I mean, people come down to Union Square to celebrate life’s greatest moments. And for something this big and interactive, for all the friends and family and loved ones to come together, putting this on, year after year, is so important for us for, for overturning that negative narrative around Union Square, around San Francisco. And that’s what keeps us going.”

The shopping district is still trying to recover from the pandemic and a high-profile rash of retail crime. Many stores have left, and the flagship Macy’s says it’s on its way out. But for those still operating, Mayor Daniel Lurie had good news. Crime is way down, he said, and there is a renewed sense of hope in Union Square and across the City.

“San Francisco, y’all, it’s happening. It is happening,” he said to the cheering crowd. So, listen, the world is starting to know, and get to know, that we are not only on the way back, but we’re going to be back to our rightful spot of being the greatest city in the world again. And, I’ll close with this: let’s go, San Francisco.”

Retail still has its challenges, but it can’t hurt for San Francisco’s premier shopping destination to have a few cheerleaders. That, and a couple of hundred Santas.

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