49ers have hit the refresh button: Why vibes are high following 6-11 season

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Standing earlier his squad astatine its end-of-season gathering successful January, San Francisco 49ers manager Kyle Shanahan's connection struck a antithetic code than the 1 helium had delivered aft they fell abbreviated successful Super Bowl LVIII the twelvemonth before.

After a disappointing 6-11 finish, Shanahan knew that plentifulness of roster turnover was coming. He besides knew that his team, which had precocious to astatine slightest the NFC Championship Game successful 4 of the erstwhile 5 seasons, was astir to embark connected an offseason with plentifulness of clip to retrieve from the grind of the year, and fatigue would beryllium nary excuse erstwhile it reconvened.

Shanahan understood wherefore his players were fatigued erstwhile they returned to enactment for the 2025 play aft a abbreviated layoff. This time, however, determination would beryllium nary specified allowance for a squad that missed the postseason for the archetypal clip since 2020.

"I talked astir however the play ended the twelvemonth earlier and however erstwhile I felt them each travel back, I felt guys weren't acceptable to travel back," Shanahan said. "But I told them however I won't truly recognize it this year. Not that that was close oregon wrong, but I couldn't comprehend it. We're disconnected 5 weeks earlier."

As the 49ers hole to wrapper up the last portion of their offseason programme this week -- a mandatory minicamp Tuesday and Wednesday -- it's been wide that Shanahan's connection was received large and clear.

When the Niners reported for the commencement of the offseason programme connected April 22, the immense bulk of players connected the roster were successful attendance.

Within the archetypal 2 weeks of Phase 1, each subordinate had been contiguous for astatine slightest 1 session. That included players progressive successful high-stakes declaration negotiations specified arsenic choky extremity George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and backmost Brock Purdy. Left tackle Trent Williams and antiaircraft extremity Nick Bosa, prima veterans who haven't ever been contiguous for the aboriginal portion of the program, were besides present. The aforesaid was existent for cardinal players coming disconnected wounded specified arsenic moving backmost Christian McCaffrey and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Shanahan's connection resonated capable that squad leaders didn't consciousness the request to scope retired to 1 different to spot if they could rally teammates to amusement up. The sting of past season's decorativeness and the play that some preceded it and defined it had near capable of a atrocious sensation that the 49ers were anxious to instrumentality to work.

As for Kittle, who called missing the playoffs "absolutely terrible" and noted helium "wouldn't suggest it for anybody," it was particularly important to instrumentality to enactment to statesman paving the mode for a roster that volition thin heavy connected a younker question that has been the taxable of the offseason.

"When each your champion players are here, benignant of mounting the tone, mounting an illustration specifically due to the fact that we person truthful galore caller guys, whether it's escaped agents, whether it's young guys, rookies, we're trying to get them successful that aforesaid mindset that we person established," Kittle said. "And it's thing that we person to reestablish each azygous year. The vibes are high. I would accidental they're immaculate and guys are practicing well, guys are competing."

While there's nary authoritative measurement for vibes, 1 of the astir notable differences the Niners person enjoyed this outpouring that they didn't past twelvemonth is that they've already made similar Michael Corleone successful the last scenes of "The Godfather" and settled each household business.

Starting with a four-year, $76.4 cardinal extension for Kittle connected April 29, the squad finalized deals for him, Purdy (five years, $265 million) and Warner (three years, $63 million) worthy much than $404 cardinal successful the span of 20 days.

It was a acold outcry from erstwhile seasons erstwhile Bosa missed each of 2023 grooming campy earlier signing his hold a fewer days earlier the commencement of the regular season. And it means the Niners won't look the play they dealt with past offseason when, adjacent aft signing McCaffrey and receiver Jauan Jennings to extensions successful the spring, they didn't scope agreements for Aiyuk and Williams until the extremity of August and aboriginal September, respectively.

Asked astir the worth successful having Kittle, Warner and Purdy signed, Shanahan initially suggested that determination wasn't a "big impact" connected the squad by getting the deals done early. But arsenic helium fielded more, akin questions connected the topic, helium made it wide that removing immoderate imaginable distractions should beryllium a bully happening for these 49ers.

"It's ever annoying erstwhile it goes into campy and particularly erstwhile you're going into a archetypal week and worldly similar that, but that's not thing that truly affects the squad close now," Shanahan said. "It's chill that we don't person immoderate of those connected the skyline though, so, there'll beryllium nary hiccups successful the future."

Indeed, the much pressing request close present is getting the young players up to velocity arsenic soon arsenic possible. After saying goodbye to 16 veterans successful escaped bureau and trading wideout Deebo Samuel Sr., the 90-man roster has 36 players with less than 2 years of NFL experience.

From that group, it's not hard to envision arsenic galore arsenic 18 of those players either starting oregon playing a important extent relation successful 2025. That's a large departure from erstwhile seasons wherever determination sometimes weren't adjacent capable spots for the drafted rookies to marque the 53-man roster, fto unsocial the undrafted escaped agents.

This year, though, 49ers grooming campy figures to beryllium a onshore of accidental and the offseason programme offers a accidental for immoderate of that young endowment to enactment its champion ft forward.

It's wherefore Bosa and antiaircraft enactment manager Kris Kocurek person already praised first-round rookie Mykel Williams' willingness to larn and pursuit the shot adjacent erstwhile plays person gone distant from him.

Warner has been a consenting mentor to third-round rookie Nick Martin, who has made a bully aboriginal impression, and fourth-round wideout Jordan Watkins has taken vantage of his chances with Aiyuk (knee) and second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) missing chunks of organized squad activities.

"We knew what we were going to beryllium getting ourselves into going successful this twelvemonth with a full caller group, a batch of young players, the value of guys being back," Warner said.

Having the bulk of the roster successful 1 spot has besides been bully for squad building. Bosa, who has agelong had a strict offseason grooming regimen successful Florida, said it was a precedence for him to beryllium astir more, particularly fixed the turnover successful the antiaircraft enactment room.

"It's a precise antithetic looking squad this year, truthful I deliberation that was important, and it's conscionable been chill to beryllium retired present during a clip wherever I tin benignant of unbend and person immoderate amusive connected the weekends and bent retired with the guys a small bit," Bosa said.

That's besides opened the doorway to much team-building opportunities astatine the squad installation and distant from it. In precocious May, Shanahan and the Niners welcomed members of the Navy SEALS grooming squad to walk 4 days with the team.

Those sessions included presentations connected however to acceptable a modular and physique civilization arsenic good arsenic immoderate carnal challenges focused connected moving together. It's the 3rd clip since Shanahan took implicit arsenic manager successful 2017 that the SEALS person visited the club.

Away from the facility, determination person been galore rounds of play played, dinners had and wide bonding. It each matters arsenic the Niners purpose to bounce backmost from a mislaid 2024 play with a squad that volition look drastically antithetic from truthful galore erstwhile squads.

"It's conscionable truthful important that we're conscionable astir each different a batch doing small antithetic activities and continuing to physique chemistry," Purdy said. "That's the benignant of worldly that matters erstwhile you get precocious successful the play and things get pugnacious and you spell done immoderate pugnacious things arsenic a team; you privation to beryllium capable to cognize the feline adjacent to you and what he's astir and that he's going to person your back."