49ers pack up after blowout loss to Seahawks ended dreams of playing Super Bowl at home

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - The San Francisco 49ers packed up their belongings and headed home as work was being done around their home venue to get Levi's Stadium ready to host the Super Bowl next month.

A season that featured many bright spots as the Niners overcame a string of injuries to star players to reach the divisional round ended in disappointment when San Francisco lost 41-6 to Seattle on Saturday night just two games shy of a home Super Bowl appearance.

"It hurt," cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said about seeing the Super Bowl signs outside the stadium as he arrived Monday. "Because this whole season I was telling myself, if we hosted the Super Bowl, we have to be there. So it hurts."

But the overriding emotion for the 49ers echoed the message that coach Kyle Shanahan gave the team in the losing locker room in Seattle about being proud of how much they overcame this season to go 12-5 in the regular season and beat Philadelphia in the wild-card round.

The Niners played eight games without starting quarterback Brock Purdy, lost star defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner to season-ending injuries early in the season, played significant time without receiver Ricky Pearsall and lost Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle to an Achilles tendon injury in the win over the Eagles.

"I really do think it was a special year," Purdy said. "Given the circumstances that we were put in and dealt with and guys going down. You see across the league that sometimes teams don't really have what it takes to have these kind of circumstances and then push forward and make it to the playoffs and have a chance to be the one seed at the end of the year. All the things that we were able to accomplish, a lot of teams would have thrown in the towel."

Kittle gave an encouraging update on his health, saying that doctors told him his injury was a "best-case scenario" and should have a shorter recovery time than some Achilles tendon injuries. Kittle wouldn't put a timeline on when he would be ready to play.

Warner said he would have been able to get back on the field from his broken ankle had the Niners made it to the NFC title game. Now he will dial back his rehabilitation a bit to start preparing for next season.

Purdy said he won't need any surgery on the injured toe that sidelined him for half of the season.

In a season filled with injuries, one player remained surprisingly healthy with All-Pro Christian McCaffrey playing all 19 games and leading all running backs with 1,010 offensive snaps in the regular season and playoffs, to go along with 450 touches for 2,314 yards at age 29.

Keeping McCaffrey healthy again next season will be a big key to success for the 49ers as he is a major part of the offense. The other two times McCaffrey had such a heavy workload in one season he dealt with injuries the next, playing only three games in 2020 and four in 2024.

"I think this was one of the most impressive seasons by an individual player ever," Shanahan said. "The dude was unbelievable. His dedication to really empty the tank every single game and to be able to do that many games in a row is something that I've never really seen before."

The return of Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator this season helped the Niners survive the rash of injuries on defense and remain competitive. Now there's a question about whether Saleh will be back next season or if San Francisco will need a fifth defensive coordinator in five seasons.

Saleh is a candidate for several open head coaching jobs and could be on the move. Offense coordinator Klay Kubiak also is a candidate to be a head coach this offseason.

"They've been unbelievable," Shanahan said. "I love both those guys. Two as good of coaches I've been around and both will be head coaches, whether it's in a week or so or whether it's over the next two years. We're lucky to have those guys, and for our sake I hope we'll still have them next year."

Shanahan did say he wouldn't allow Kubiak to leave to become a primary play-caller for another team.

The 49ers will have the 27th pick in the draft in April and are projected to have two extra compensatory picks in the fourth round and one fifth-round comp pick. San Francisco doesn't have its own pick in the fifth, sixth or seventh rounds.

The Niners have several players eligible to be unrestricted free agents led by receiver Jauan Jennings, who missed training camp practices seeking a long-term extension that never came.

Among the other key players who could hit the open market are defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos, offensive lineman Spencer Burford, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, safety Jason Pinnock, Pro Bowl special teams player Luke Gifford and returner Skyy Moore.

Backup quarterback Mac Jones also could be on the move if another team targets him in a trade to be their starter. Jones signed a two-year deal with San Francisco this offseason and was impressive in eight games as a starter.