Briana Jeannel
The San Francisco 49ers officially closed the book on the 2025 season on Monday, gathering at the team facility to pack up lockers and share final reflections after a year defined by adversity, growth, and resilience.
Despite navigating significant injuries and constant lineup changes, San Francisco pushed deep into the postseason, leaning on new contributors and the strength of its locker room. As the season came to an end, players spoke candidly about the journey, the bonds formed, and the lessons they'll carry forward.
Here's what the 49ers had to say as they closed out the 2025 campaign:
DBDeommodore Lenoiron the emergence of young players and the team's character:
"That showed what type of character we've got on this team. Guys happened to be in spots they've never played before, just coming to learn. Guys we signed off the street having to pick up on the playbook and just play in big games. They didn't have a lot of starts, but they showed up in the biggest moments."
Lenoir on what he learned in his first season as a team captain:
"I have a voice on this team. I didn't know a lot of guys respected my word until I spoke to the team after the Chicago game. A lot of guys told me after I had spoke that they loved my speech. So that was probably the biggest thing."
Lenoir on the difficulty of locker clean-out day:
"All the relationships. You never know who's going to be here or who's not. That's probably the hardest part."
DLMykel Williamson the emotional toll of his season cut short from injury:
"Emotionally, I ain't going to lie to you, it's been hard. It was hard dealing with something to this significance. Probably the biggest injury I've ever had. The time table that it takes, missing all the important games and the events that I'm missing with the guys out there. It would have been nice to be a part of it."
Williams on what he learned while sidelined:
"My process is kind of like how I've been processing in the past, just breaking down the film and taking out my good things from it and putting it to the side, and taking out my bad things from it and putting it up front. Focusing on the bad things to try to eliminate those... Little technique things like pad level. Sometimes it's my hand placement, sometimes my steps too wide, or I'm not on my line, things like that."
Williams on leaning on teammates during rehab:
"They helped me a lot. DLNick Bosahas been extremely helpful. He's like a real big brother. He looks out, checks on me, sits down to eat lunch with me, talks to me, asks me about my needs, asks me how I'm feeling and where I'm at in the process... I feel more comfortable leaning on him and asking him for stuff versus a lot of other people. I lean on him and ask him because he's been through it. He knows exactly what it feels like and how to move."
RBChristian McCaffreyon his assessment of the season:
"Obviously, we came up short, and it's always tough when the season just ends abruptly. But man, I'm so proud to be a part of this group. It was such an encouraging year from an individual standpoint. Being around this group of guys who came into work with the the right attitude, the right mindset every day, and just kept fighting no matter what was thrown our way. I'll always be grateful to be a part of this."
McCaffrey on why this season showed the team's depth:
"We'll get some guys back, which will be huge, obviously. That goes without saying. And then, you get a lot of young guys and a lot of guys who were backups and played a lot of meaningful snaps. I always say the best way to learn football is experience. It's to play meaningful snaps and meaningful games. And we had a lot of guys do that this year. From a depth perspective, when we get some guys back healthy, you have guys who know what it's like to play in a game, who know what it's like to prepare during a week. I think that's extremely valuable."
McCaffrey on the finality of the season ending:
"It's always weird. It's weird because whether you know somebody on a personal level or not, you're family. You go through so much from OTAs until now with each other and you work so hard. I think that's why football is the best sport on the planet. You truly have a group of collective men who sacrifice so much time and effort to collectively get a goal and then it just ends, and you go your separate ways. So, it's always a little bit weird in that sense, and I don't think we say it enough, I know when I was younger when seasons ended, I would always be ready for the next one like, 'God, we've got to get back.' And I don't know if I appreciated the guys I was with enough. And so this year, I feel like I'll do a better job of expressing gratitude to all the guys in the locker room that made the season special and who did stuff the right way. That was just fun to be a part of and I'm appreciative of these guys."
QBBrock Purdyon the growth he experienced in 2025:
"I had fun within the year. And what the mindset needs to be going into each and every game. I feel like I grew in that regard. And my fundamentals, I feel like I got better this year and still can improve, but I just feel like I got better in that space. Obviously, I'll keep trying to improve the mental side of things. I think that's the next thing for me. But overall, I thought it was a growth year."
Purdy on why this team was special despite adversity:
"Yeah I really do think it was a special year. 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 and all the things that we were able to accomplish, man. A lot of teams would throw the towel. For us to be able to do what we did, we had 13 wins this year and had a lot of young guys step up and come in to a role and play at a high level. More than anything the love of this locker room and the brotherhood that we have, to be able to do it together week in and week out, give it everything we had, that's something that we'll always carry with us. In my eyes it was a special year."
Purdy on his perspective throughout the season:
"It was a long year. Coming into the year I was like, 'Man, I want to play my best year of football.' And then, go into Seattle and boom, I get turf toe. I was out eight weeks. This isn't how I expected the year to go for me personally. But, we were also winning games. QBMac Jonescame in and played great, so I was trying to do everything I could to serve the QB room and our team. When I did come back, finding ways to find myself and be able to play at a high level. So, it was just a lot emotionally and obviously physically. But that's playing in the NFL, and you've got to find a way at the end of the day to be your best version of yourself and go win games. I'm proud that we were able to do that as a team. It sucks that how it ended, we also have that bitter taste in our mouth, but definitely going to learn from this. I'm really excited for the future of the 49ers and what we're going to do moving forward."
WRJauan Jenningson what the 49ers mean to him:
"It means everything. It's nothing like Santa Clara. It quickly turned into home. A run I'll never forget."
LBFred Warneron the perspective gained from his injury:
"I'm not invincible. I think before this happened, I truly had the feeling that nothing bad could happen to me. I'd been so blessed with great health through seven, eight years and had missed one game with a hamstring pull. This was something significant that finally happened to me where it wasn't anything that was really in my control. Just a fluke injury that kind of took my season away. I think it gives me much more gratitude going forward of soaking up each moment and not taking a single day for granted."
Warner on how the team is positioned entering 2026:
"It's positioned as well as it could be, right? I think everybody going into this year outside of our building was talking about how we had no chance to compete for anything because there was a lot of turnover from the year before and losing a bunch of guys. That's what this league is. You lose guys, you replenish through the draft and through free agency, and then you go again and try and give yourself the best chance to win a championship at the end of it."
QBMac Joneson rediscovering joy in the game:
"This year was just awesome for me. To be around these guys and the coaches, players, everybody. It was just so fun to get, as I say, the train back on the tracks and that's what I wanted to do. So, put a lot of good film out there. In a way, I had two seasons in one. I had a season as a starter kind of and a season as a backup. So, it was really good for me. I had a lot of fun and excited for what's next... I feel like I got to show my personality. To be around the guys like TEGeorge Kittle, WRKendrick Bourne, I've always watched and wanted to play next to RBChristian McCaffrey, TTrent Williams, and LBFred Warner, it was dreamlike honestly. It was just a lot of fun to learn from those guys and the system that they run here."
Jones on what the season meant for his growth:
"It was exciting this year. I felt like every time I came in to work, it wasn't work, it was having fun in the quarterback room, in the offensive meetings, on the practice field, and then that just carried over to the games... That's a standard that Brock set since he's been here. For me to learn from him and Kyle (Shanahan), (quarterbacks coach) Mick (Lombardi), and (offensive coordinator) Klay (Kubiak). I mean, the list goes on. Really just got a PhD in football this year and I want to keep getting better."
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