Of all the players Kyle Shanahan brought in his first year taking over the team, George Kittle is the only one who has remained without a release, trade, or other issue. Everyone else didn’t get that consistency.
Eight years ago around this time, no one wanted to come to the San Francisco 49ers. Coaches felt there was no stability due to the one-and-done tenures of Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Players didn’t want to come there because the 49ers weren’t spending top dollar on top free agents, instead choosing names like Erik Pears and Reggie Bush, nor were they a contender in any stretch of the imagination.
The 49ers got around the coaching issue by hiring Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch to six-year contracts.
The players? They could pay the money (ohhhh did they pay), but they weren’t contenders. What resulted was this initial free agency class:
- QB Bryan Hoyer
- FB Kyle Juszczyk
- WR Pierre Garcon
- WR Marquise Goodwin
- TE Logan Paulsen
- ILB Malcolm Smith
- K Robbie Gould
- WR Aldrick Robinson
- QB Matt Barkley
Juszczyk was signed to the then-most lucrative contract for a fullback in league history and earned every penny. Gould upgraded the kicker position immediately, and since his departure in the 2023 offseason, things haven’t been the same. Everyone else is long gone. Hoyer was seen as the bridge quarterback, but that lasted a handful of games before rookie C.J. Beathard was given a shot, and eventually Jimmy Garoppolo took over the position by season’s end.
The draft picks have the same fate:
- Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
- Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
- Ahkello Witherspoon, CB, Colorado
- C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa
- Joe Williams, RB, Utah
- George Kittle, TE, Iowa
- Trent Taylor, WR, Louisiana Tech
- D.J. Jones, DT, Ole Miss
- Pita Taumoepenu, DE, Utah
- Adrian Colbert, CB, Miami
One of these names listed is not like any of the others: George Kittle. With Juszczyk’s release and subsequent re-signing, Kittle remains the only Kyle Shanahan-picked player from that 2017 season to be on the roster without issue, be it releases, free agency or whatever. That’s it. Everyone else is either gone or has been cut from the team for some stretch.
And yes, I originally wrote this assuming Juszczyk was long gone. On Saturday he was brought back. It still is interesting to see all the names above for the 49ers and know George Kittle is the only player that hasn’t had any releases, cuts, etc. to stay on the team.
Kittle and Juszczyk also have a shot at the 10-year wall. Despite Juszczyk taking a walk around the block for a hot minute in free agency, both he and George Kittle sit at eight straight years with the team. The last player to hit 10 years was Joe Staley.
And then there’s Trent Taylor. Yes, he is with the 49ers on a future contract, however he did depart from the team in 2021 and returned in 2024. Kittle has been the only consistent player on the roster since Kyle Shanahan’s career with the 49ers began.
And who knows what’s in store for Kittle in 2025? With the 49ers releasing Juszczyk, it seems like anything they can justify for the cash is happening. Juszczyk’s release almost closed the door on the 2017 free agent class, but then he came back in two days.
The players above brought in the Kyle Shanahan era, and it shows just how much attrition, and change happens in eight years.