All we’ve done is discuss the negatives; there’s got to be some positives to come out of this.
For many reasons, the 2024 season has been a frustrating disappointment for the San Francisco 49ers. We can point at injuries leveling the playing field, strange playcalling in the red zone, weird mistakes unbecoming of the 49ers we know, and more.
So here we are, with a 5-7 record, two games behind the Seattle Seahawks in first place. The only positive mentioned is that the 49ers are in last place, but they are just two games back.
There must be some other good things to come/coming from the season, right?
How about some silver linings in all of this? A few positives will come out of this season and the situation the 49ers find themselves in. I’m curious about what you think is some positivity from this year or where the 49ers are.
Many of you can point to the rookies showing up at various places, especially someone like Renardo Green, who has displayed he has a bright future in the 49ers secondary, or the fact we know Jordan Mason can helm things behind Christian McCaffrey if Kyle Shanahan can give the former more touches and not overuse the latter. That’s assuming Mason returns in 2025.
Perhaps people were happy to see Ben Bartch’s performance against the Buffalo Bills and were anxious to see how he could do with (another) rookie standout, Dominick Puni. Puni alone has been a pleasant surprise. He has yet to allow a quarterback hit this year. So that man alone has upgraded the offensive line, something the 49ers needed desperately. That’s one huge positive from this year.
My silver lining? Isaac Guerendo and his now-great situation to develop the rest of the season. He can get starter reps in his rookie season and take that experience to next year. There probably won’t be much in competition for his reps either since the 49ers have run out of bodies in the backfield.
Guerendo displayed some speed in the preseason, but we all know that’s preseason. The regular season is a different beast. If it had not been for Elijah Mitchell’s injury, we may not have seen much of Guerendo. Mitchell’s injury may have opened the door for Guerendo, with all of us assuming his (limited) use would lessen once Christian McCaffrey returned.
That was if things went as planned. Instead, McCaffrey is back on injured reserve, and Mason wasn’t far behind. So now it’s the Guerendo show, and that’s some valuable experience he can use to close out the season.
When you realize that both Mitchell and Mason’s contracts are up this year, seeing what Guerendo can do will help the 49ers’ decisions on that as well. Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, while Mason will be a restricted free agent. It’s doubtful the 49ers won’t keep both of them when you know how tight money may be with the Brock Purdy extension looming.
So the 49ers can see what they have with Guerendo in a situation not unlike Mitchell’s way back in 2021 (Mitchell’s rookie season, when he was utilized far more after Raheem Mostert’s injury in Week 1). They can also glimpse the possibility of a McCaffrey/Mason/Guerendo three-headed beast. Just as long as Kyle Shanahan actually divides the carries up.
But that’s just one situation I can look and say is a “good” thing about 2025. Guerendo got himself a great opportunity and a good situation to finish the year and show the 49ers what they have.
But that’s just one such scenario I can say is a positive to come out of this rotten season. What do you take as a positive from 2024? Come on, there’s got to be some good to come out of it. Or at least a way to spin this into a positive.