As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers near the end of their offseason program and the 2025 season draws ever closer, we're taking a look at each team the Buccaneers are going to face along the way. From how those teams fared last year, to what they've done with the roster since, to some as-yet-unanswered questions – we want to get a better feel for what the Bucs will be up against this fall. Today's focus is on a 49ers team that had to reset at multiple positions after a free agency exodus but still has the pieces in place to rebound after last year's fall from Super Bowl runner-up to fourth place in the NFC West.

2024 Results

Given that San Francisco had taken the Chiefs to overtime in the Super Bowl in February of the same year, the 49ers certainly had higher expectations for the 2024 season than what proved to be reality. The team lost six games of the previous year's win total to fall to 6-11, finished last in the NFC West and missed the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Injuries didn't help. What seemed like a minor leg issue for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey turned into a major problem and limited him to four games and 202 rushing yards, down from a league-leading 1,409 in 2023. Left tackle Trent Williams missed seven games, left guard Aaron Banks four, sack-master Nick Bosa three, cornerback Charvarius Ward 5, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk 10 and linebacker Dre Greenlaw all but the last two. A star-studded offense with countless weapons had allowed the 49ers to finish third in scoring in 2023 but they lost six points per game in 2024 and fell to 14th.

The 49ers started the season by beating Aaron Rodgers' Jets, 32-19, even with McCaffrey unexpectedly ruled out just before the game, as Jordan Mason picked up the slack with 147 yards and a touchdown. However, they would lose three of their next four, including a pair of one-score road decisions to top contenders Minnesota and the L.A. Rams. The 49ers seemed to right the ship with a 3-1 run starting with a 36-24 road win over division-rival Seattle that featured three Brock Purdy touchdown passes. That stretch ended with a back-and-forth affair in Tampa that was won by a Jake Moody 44-yard field goal as time expired.

However, that would be pretty much the end of the winning for the 2024 49ers, save for a 38-13 blowout of an equally-struggling Bears team in Week 14. In the five losses surrounding that game, the 49ers averaged just 12 points per outing and lost by 12 or more points on three occasions, including lopsided road losses at Green Bay (38-10) and Buffalo (35-10) in Weeks 12 and 13. Then the defense cratered over the last two weeks, allowing a total of 87 points in losses to Detroit and Arizona.

Even with a diminished cast around him, Purdy had another strong season, though his touchdown total fell from 31 to 20 and his touchdown percentage fell from a league-leading 7.0 to 4.4. His interception mark also went up one from 11 to 12 even though he played in one fewer game than the year before. San Francisco's defense finished eighth in the league's yardage ranking, just as it had in 2023, but it allowed 25.6 points per game, a big jump from the 17.3 allowed the year before. The 49ers struggled in situational defense, ranking 24th in third-down success rate and 31st in red zone touchdown percentage allowed.

2025 Arrivals

The 49ers were not big players in free agency as they had to concentrate more on getting deals done for Purdy and several other core players (more on that below), and the only player added from another team that appears to have a clear path to start is cornerback Tre Brown. The 49ers mostly added depth on modest contracts.

On offense, that included quarterback Mac Jones, who got a two-year, $8.4 million deal and tight end Luke Farrell, who got three years and $15.8 million. Both came over from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 49ers further bolstered their tight end crew behind George Kittle later in the offseason, signing former Falcon Ross Dwelley after the draft.

The 49ers hope to have wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk back at some point early in the season after he tore an ACL and MCL in Week Seven last season, but they did add some depth in free agency by signing former Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson to a two-year deal. They also grabbed Mississippi's Jordan Watkins in the fourth round of what was a deep draft for pass-catchers.

Andre Dillard comes over from Green Bay to add depth behind the 37-year-old Williams, who hasn't played a full season since 2013 and missed the Pro Bowl last year for the first time in 13 years. Oregon running back James Jordan, picked up in the fifth round, also joins with holdover Isaac Guerendo to add depth behind McCaffrey.

In addition to Brown, the 49ers restocked their defense following a free agency exodus with three Day One and Day Two picks who could start immediately. That included Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams in the first round, selected 11th overall, plus Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins in the second round and Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin in the third.

In June, the 49ers also sent a 2026 fifth-round pick to Philadelphia for another edge rusher in Bryce Huff. Huff had been a rare free agency miss for the Eagles, contributing just 2.5 sacks, but he had racked up 10 sacks the previous year with the Jets. Needing even more defenders to fill out the depth chart, the 49ers gave short deals to a pair of safeties – the Dolphins' Siran Neal and the Giants' Jason Pinnock – and a pair of linebackers in the Titans' Luke Gifford and the Jets' Chazz Surratt. In addition, a third-round pick was spent on Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout, who at the least provides depth at slot corner.

San Francisco even had turnover at two key special teams spots. The new punter is the well-traveled Thomas Morstead, who is going into his 17th season. That job was split between Pat O'Donnell and Mitch Wishnowsky last year. Snapping the ball to Morstead will be Jon Weeks, who has handled that job for 244 consecutive games in the NFL, all of it previously with the Houston Texans.

2025 Departures

In order to get in position to get the Purdy deal done, the 49ers new they were going to have to say goodbye to a number of core players, a process that General Manager John Lynch described as "a tough pill to swallow" and "a little uneasy" but "necessary."

In a couple cases, that involved shipping out players in trades, as they did with wide receiver Deebo Samuel and Mason. Samuel garnered a 5th-round pick from the Washington Commanders as he is going into the final year of his current contract. Mason also brought back what was essentially a fifth-round selection.

Then, defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins were released in March with post-June 1 designations to spread out their dead cap hits. Hargrave had been a big-ticket signing in 2023 but he didn't fully live up to expectations in the Bay area, with 8.0 sacks over two years and 14 missed games last season. Hargrave subsequently signed a two-year $30 million deal with the Vikings. Collins was only in San Francisco for one season, and he contributed five sacks, but he's in Cleveland now after his release.

Otherwise, unrestricted free agency took care of the rest of the roster purge, as the 49ers were forced to watch a long list of veteran starters and regulars walk. On offense, that included starting guard Aaron Banks and valuable fill-in tackle Jaylon Moore, who landed lucrative multi-year contracts with the Packers and Chiefs, respectively. Running back Elijah Mitchell also left for the Chiefs, though he had missed all of 2024 with a hamstring injury anyway.

The losses were even deeper on defense. In addition to the departures of Hargrave and Collins, there were new deals in new places for cornerback Charvarius Ward (Colts), safety Talanoa Hufanga (Broncos), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Broncos) and cornerback Isaac Yiadom (Saints), all of whom got three year commitments. Edge rusher Leonard Floyd also took a one-year deal in Atlanta.

Other Noteworthy Developments

As for that looming Purdy contract, it got done in May – unlike last year's last-minute deals with Aiyuk and Williams – and checked in at $265 million over five years. The last pick in the 2022 draft, Purdy had an average annual salary of $934,252 over his first three seasons; his new average is roughly 53 times better.

The 49ers also succeeded in getting timely new contracts done with a pair of irreplaceable stars in linebacker Fred Warner and tight end George Kittle. Kittle's deal was closed right after the draft and gave him $76 million over four years to make him the highest-paid tight end in the league. About a month later, Warner also became the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL with a three-year, $63 million pact.

The 49ers made some significant changes to Kyle Shanahan's coaching staff. After firing Nick Sorensen after his one season as the defensive coordinator, the 49ers brought back Robert Saleh, who had done well enough in that position from 2017-20 to land a head coaching job with the Jets. The 49ers also added another former head coach, Gus Bradley, to their staff as the assistant head coach of defense.

On offense, Klay Kubiak was promoted to offensive coordinator after previously serving as a pass game specialist. The team also made a switch at special teams coordinator, replacing Brian Schneider with Brant Boyer, who had held the same post with the Jets for the past nine seasons.

Pressing Questions

Can Robert Saleh shepherd the 49ers' defense through a significant change in personnel and get it back to how dominant was during his first tenure with the team?

As noted above, about half of the 49ers' starting defensive lineup is going to look a lot different than it did in Saleh's first tour with the team, and different than it did just two years ago when the 49ers only allowed 17.5 points per game on their way to the Super Bowl. There could be as many as three rookies in the starting lineup, and possibly even four if third-round cornerback Upton Stout works his way into the mix. Safety Malik Mustapha is in just his second season after being drafted in the fourth round in 2024 and after making 12 starts last year will likely not be ready for the start of 2025 after suffering a knee injury in Week 18. Starting cornerback Renardo Green is also in just his second season and potential starting cornerback Tre Brown only opened 10 games in four years with Seattle.

Saleh has proved capable of leading a quick turnaround on defense, though the job in San Francisco is more about maintaining a certain standard. He was fired by the Jets in the middle of last season but it wasn't because the team was struggling in his area of expertise. After New York finished dead last in the NFL's defensive rankings in 2021, Saleh helped them improve to fourth in 2022 and third each of the last two seasons.

Will Christian McCaffrey play a full season and return to being one of the most prolific offensive players in the NFL?

As for the 49ers' offense, a lot of attention will be paid to Purdy in 2025, and rightfully so. After being clearly the best bargain in the NFL under his rookie deal, he is now one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league and the 49ers can no longer use his low cap hit to fund a star-studded cast of offensive weapons. Until Aiyuk is back in the lineup, Purdy will try to continue producing at a very high level while throwing to Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins…and, of course, George Kittle.

However, McCaffrey may be even more critical to the direction the 49ers' offense takes in 2025, whether it be up or down. In 2023, he played in 16 games and was the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year, leading the league in rushing yards (1,459), yards from scrimmage (2,023), total touchdowns (21) and offensive touches (339). When McCaffrey is on the field – and in his healthy seasons that is usually almost every snap – his team's offense clearly runs through him.

In 2019, McCaffrey played in all 16 games for the Carolina Panthers and produced league highs with 2,392 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns, earning Associated Press first-team All-Pro honors. However, he was then limited by injuries to just 10 games over the next two seasons combined before being traded six weeks into the season to San Francisco in 2022. Over 17 combined games with those two teams, he racked up 1,880 yards from scrimmage.

McCaffrey is an elusive, tackle-breaking runner as well as a dangerous pass-catching threat, and he just turned 29. The 49ers, and Purdy, are likely going to find a lot more success if he is on the field for the majority of the 2025 season.