The 49ers 2024 season trudged to an uninspiring ugly finish in Arizona on Sunday afternoon. Mercifully, one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of the franchise has reached an end. The final product? A previously unfathomable 6-11 mark that does a sufficient job summarizing the hellscape that was the last four months of 49ers football. Most everything that could have gone wrong, did. As much as many of these players and coaches adore football, just about everyone in red and gold is ready to distance themselves from that disaster in short order.
The 2024 campaign of course left most of the physical scars players obtain during a football season. But for the faces of the franchise, it also left emotional scars. Defensive end Nick Bosa noted after the game that it’s “kind of hard to look guys in the face” after a season like that. It’s a poignant cross section into the psyche of men who have led this team to great heights. Everyone’s different, however. On Monday, less than 24 hours after the season sputtered its last breath, George Kittle offered his perspective.
Trying to find positives in this 49ers season seems like a futile task, particularly when focusing on Christian McCaffrey. But try to put aside the months-long Achilles saga, his overseas trip for a secret treatment, and his knee injury that ended the comeback story before it really got going. McCaffrey himself spoke on Monday in the final media availability of the year. He emphasized the character development he underwent this season, and how he’s excited to come back full strength in 2025.
The last two seasons have ended with pain for San Francisco. In vastly different ways, sure. But at the end of the day, the goal wasn’t reached. Whether that was at 6-11 or in overtime of the Super Bowl. They didn’t get it done.
With the earlier than expected exit this season, Niners’ stars have a few weeks to look ahead to the Pro Bowl. George Kittle will go after a career year, and perennial Fullback representative Kyle Juszczyk will attend for a very impressive ninth straight year. But some 49ers who probably should have been selected, were not. Deommodore Lenoir headlines the snubs. After some initial disappointment, Lenoir indicated that he is much more worried about making the 49ers the best version they can be for 2025.
Ricky Pearsall’s shooting in late August was one of the more tragic, then miraculous developments of the year. Pearsall spent the first four weeks of his rookie season rehabbing a wound that miraculously allowed him to get back on the football field within weeks. His outlook following the ordeal has been perhaps more impressive than anything. He spoke Monday, referenced the perpetrator and how he’d like to be able to forgive.