George Kittle Leaves No Doubt About Niners' Expectations

Last season proved a major disappointment for the San Francisco 49ers. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance, many thought they were well positioned to make another run and potentially break through, ending a decades long title drought. 

The results could not have been anything further from that dream. San Francisco plummeted to fourth in the NFC West and finished with a lousy 6-11 record. 

Instead of running it back or doubling down on their group, general manager John Lynch and his staff decided to allow for some major changes. The Niners saw an exodus of key contributors from last season during free agency, helping the cause with their trade of wide receiver Deebo Samuel. 

San Francisco used the rest of their offseason to invest in their few core while attempting to get younger and cheaper elsewhere. They welcome some promising prospects in a few key spots, so there may be some adjustment periods for the crop of newcomers. 

But as George Kittle urged during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ, the championship standard of this storied franchise has not changed. 

“I would say we have pretty lofty expectations,” Kittle said. “We always do. We understand that we lost some really key players...

“That is obvious. We’re aware of that. But I feel like, in the way we signed guys in free agency, the way that we drafted, we targeted those holes that we lost. I’m not going to say we’re going to replace All-Pro players, Pro Bowl players immediately, but I think we drafted really, really well.”

The Niners lost 17 players either by trade, release or signing with another team during free agency. Despite their 11 draft picks, those losses aren't made up in the span of a few days or even months when encompassing the offseason.

But the Niners did not lose everyone and they retained their most important players. Kittle, Fred Warner and Brock Purdy all signed contract extensions this offseason while Nick Bosa and a hopefully healthy Christian McCaffrey remain in the fold. 

The Niners have taken note of some encouraging early returns on first-round pick Mykel Williams and the young receiving tandem of Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings are positioned for more featured roles in 2025. 

Rarely if ever do teams see this many pieces leave during an offseason. But the Niners have allowed this by their own doing and it appears everyone is on board with the slight shift in direction. 

As Kittle understands, the brand and the name means the challenges that come with these changes are irrelevant at the end of the day. The expectations are positive results and the burden falls on this group to make that happen.