Some teams are able to keep their Super Bowl window open for seasons at a time, while others make a deep playoff run once before fading back into the crowd.
For the San Francisco 49ers, the last few years under head coach Kyle Shanahan has been the former situation, advancing to at least the conference championship in three straight seasons from 2021-2023, though never quite getting that coveted Super Bowl win.
But going all-in every time can take its toll, or at least that's what quarterback Brock Purdy says could have accounted for the Niners' subsequent nosedive during the 2024 campaign.
"Last year, man, guys were tired," Purdy said recently on the Built 4 More podcast, via 49ers WebZone. "That season is no joke, and when you go from July of training and everything, all the way to the end of February, and then you really get five weeks off or so [until] you've got to report back, and then you're going again, guys are tired. They're still beat up, their bodies."
Purdy notably started off his career with a bang, leading San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game in the 2022 campaign before suffering an elbow injury during the contest. The Niners returned to the playoffs in his sophomore season, advancing one more step to play in Super Bowl LVIII.
Including the season before Purdy was drafted, the 49ers played nine games more than teams without playoff appearances did over three years, an extra load that seemed to have caught up to them in the form of injuries and general exhaustion by the time the most recent campaign kicked off.
Aspirations of a return to the big game at the season's start gave way to a middling 5-4 first half of the year. Then, things completely collapsed down the stretch, with the Niners losing seven of their last eight games to finish in last place in the NFC West.
Purdy is a spry 25 years old, but he said even he could feel the fatigue of the long seasons stacking up, and he couldn't imagine how it was for his veteran teammates.
"For these guys that are getting older, it's not easy," Purdy said. "And then last year, we just had a lot of things go crazy, like with injuries and whatnot."
Despite the disappointment of the season's end, the 49ers have had a relatively quiet offseason in terms of acquiring talent, instead allowing many players to head elsewhere in free agency and parting ways with stars via trade.
Whether that approach, and perhaps some much-needed rest, can lead to a return to postseason success remains to be seen.
The team's current break from action ends with the beginning of the first offseason workout programs, set to kick off in less than a month.
