San Francisco 49ers 2026 Offseason Outlook

Sure, all teams must deal with injuries during the course of an NFL season. but it’s fair to say no team was hit harder by the injury bug in 2025 than the San Francisco 49ers. How bad was it? Bad enough that conspiracy theorists believed the injuries were being caused by electromagnetic radiation from a nearby power station.

That idea was debunked, so the 49ers’ rash of injuries can mostly be chalked up to bad luck. Amazingly, head coach Kyle Shanahan kept his shorthanded team relevant all season — San Francisco was in contention for the NFC’s No. 1 seed right up until the final week of the season. The 49ers finished 12-5 and reached the divisional playoff round before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Even if the injury bug is over, the 49ers still have an uphill climb in 2026, and it doesn’t help that they’re in the same division as the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. The defense, while it gets the return of stalwarts Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, loses defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who deserves credit for getting the most out of a unit that played most of the season without its two best players. Raheem Morris, fired as the Atlanta Falcons head coach, replaces Saleh, who is now head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Tight end George Kittle, who tore his Achilles in the wild-card game, says he is ahead of schedule in his rehab — but it’s still doubtful he’s be close to 100% before midseason. That contributed to a gaping hole in the passing game, as Jauan Jennings is a free agent and the team has already said it will be parting ways with Brandon Aiyuk. Needing to address that need, the 49ers made one of the biggest moves on the first day of legal tampering, agreeing to terms with Mike Evans.

2025 recap

In a season plagued by injuries, it’s stunning that running back Christian McCaffrey — who has been injury-prone throughout his career — played all 17 games. And that’s a big reason why the 49ers were able to be so successful. McCaffrey remains one of the most versatile weapons in football. He rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 102 receptions for 924 yards and seven TD catches. It was McCaffrey’s third season with over 2,000 scrimmage yards.

McCaffrey’s presence was particularly important with quarterback Brock Purdy injured for half the season. He kept the 49ers afloat as backup QB Mac Jones had to start eight games. Jones did hold his own. While Purdy completed 69.4% of his passes for 2,167 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine starts, Jones completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Given the Purdy injury and the thin receiving corps (Jauan Jennings was the only wide receiver with more than 37 catches), it’s impressive and speaks to Shanahan’s offensive excellence that the 49ers ranked 10th in scoring offense.

It may have been even more impressive that the team ranked 13th in scoring defense, considering Warner played only six games and Bosa played just three. Saleh’s unit allowed fewer than 17 points six times. That said, a lack of defensive playmakers hit home. San Francisco ranked dead last in the NFL with 20 sacks, and their six interceptions were tied for second-fewest.

The 49ers opened the season with a road win over the Seahawks. They had a shot at home field in the playoffs before losing the regular-season finale to the Seahawks, 13-3. After defeating the Eagles in the wild-card round, the rubber match against Seattle wasn’t close, as they lost, 41-6.

Key free agents

WR Jauan Jennings
G Spencer Burford

49ers salary cap space

$42,950,176

2026 draft needs

The signing of Mike Evans takes care of a big need. Even with Bosa and Warner back, the front seven needs to be addressed, particularly an edge rusher. The back end can use a play-making safety as well. On offense, adding youth and depth to the offensive line would be good. The 49ers’ best player is left tackle Trent Brown, who will be 33 in April.

2026 opponents

Home: Arizona, L.A. Rams, Seattle, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Washington

Away: Arizona, L.A. Rams, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City, L.A. Chargers, N.Y. Giants