After an injury-ravaged 2024 season saw the 49ers finish 6-11, change was inevitable.
For Kyle Juszczyk, that included a brief period of free agency that amounted to "the worst three days of my life." Fortunately, he ended up returning to the 49ers, the team with which he's spent the majority of his career. He expects a bounce-back season for his club and especially for one high-profile teammate: Christian McCaffrey.
"Christian is arguably the best player in the NFL," Juszczyk told Vic Tafur of The Athletic on Thursday. "He was the offensive player of the year two years ago. He changes everything, and he looks incredible. He looks so healthy, he looks so explosive."
The closing sentence in Juszczyk is what matters most. McCaffrey landed on the cover of Madden NFL 25 after compiling a stellar 2023 season, then lost almost all of his 2024 campaign due to injury, finishing with four games played, 50 carries and 202 rushing yards.
Those totals were a far cry from the 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns McCaffrey racked up on the ground in 2023, and his absence was felt throughout the season, especially after backup Jordan Mason encountered his own health issues. With so many key players missing, San Francisco crumbled, falling from defending NFC champion to last place in a competitive NFC West.
Such a disappointment will prompt change, regardless of where it occurs. Much of the ensuing roster turnover affected the defense, though, and with quarterback Brock Purdy's contract situation now solved, Juszczyk has reason to feel optimistic about San Francisco's offense entering 2025, even if it's a season that will be played without receiver Deebo Samuel, who was dealt to Washington in the spring.
"I feel great about where the offense is. I think we had one of the best summers that we've had in a long time," he said. "Everybody was there (at workouts), the camaraderie was through the roof. I love the guys that we added. I feel really good about where we're at. … Brock got paid, and we don't have to worry about that."
Juszczyk nearly lost his chance at another season with the 49ers, who cut him to save cap space and let him linger on the open market long enough for the fullback to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the end, though, Juszczyk knew his heart remained in the Bay Area, a region he's called home since signing with the 49ers as a free agent in 2017.
"It's so much. Everything you just said, being able to walk into the building, and I literally know everyone," Juszczyk said when explaining why he wanted to stay in San Francisco. "I know the chefs, the custodians, the PR team, the community team. I know all the players, like it's just a familiarity.
"My home is there. We bought a house back in 2017, and like, that's home. And to be in California, to be on what I think is a really good team, a team that I think has a really great opportunity this year. So there's just too many good things."
What wasn't good was last year's result. But each new season brings fresh opportunity, and Juszczyk might value this one more than any other after facing the possibility that his time with the 49ers was over. Add in their decline from Super Bowl participant to the division's cellar and, well, it's easy to see how they might be even more motivated.
"I think we've been extremely hungry this whole offseason," he said. "The fact that everybody was there and everyone was grinding, there was that little extra motivation to really get this thing going."
Their 2025 journey begins in two weeks. They'll hope it ends in the stadium they call home: Levi's Stadium, host of Super Bowl LX.
"I think we've been talking about it since we found out two years ago or whatever," Juszczyk said. "That's the dream scenario, that it ends there. And I hope that's how it works out.
"But, you know, it's July and I've got to give you the classic, 'We can't look that far ahead. … It's all about training camp in two weeks.'"
