Niners Nation

Strange, but it felt like Dominick Puni broke out in his rookie year in 2024. Unfortunately, his 2025 saw a bit of a regression after a solid 2024 campaign. Blame it on a PCL injury in August, but that was just his first month. Could the San Francisco 49ers’ right guard be poised for a breakout? It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a player go from a decent rookie season to a step back in year 2 and then get it all together in year 3.

Brandon Aiyuk has been busy this week doing Brandon Aiyuk things. The soon-to-be-former San Francisco 49ers wide unfollowed the quarterback he wanted to play with, explained himself, and told us social media is never stopping for him. Let’s dissect this. To discuss where Aiyuk is now, we need to go back a week. Because last Saturday, Aiyuk zeroed in on Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. At one point, we all speculated that Aiyuk wanted to reunite with Daniels for the 2026 season.

Jerry Rice talks 49ers: Mike Evans addition, De’Zhaun Stribling, 2026 expectations “Just throw it up,” Rice said. “Throw it up because he’s got that big frame. He’s going to be able to go up and attack the football. So, once you’re in the end zone, just throw that thing up, like ‘Alley-Oop’ (R.C. Owens) back in the day.

After having one of the oldest rosters in the NFL in 2024, the San Francisco 49ers made it a goal to get younger last offseason, allowing several veteran free agents to walk, while looking to the draft for their replacements. As a result, the 49ers had a ton of rookies play last season, while still making the playoffs as one of the NFL’s best stories.

FTN Fantasy released its chapters for each team. As you might expect, the topic of injuries dominated the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners were once again in the top five in adjusted games lost in 2025. The 115 games lost were an improvement from the 141.2 in 2024.

Injury, not age, is the thing holding Kittle back. He remained dominant at age 32, with 57.1 yards per game (second among tight ends), seven touchdowns and 2.39 yards per route run. San Francisco posted a 138.4 passer rating when targeting Kittle, whose 82.6% catch rate was stellar. “Injuries and durability are becoming a concern, but when he’s healthy, he’s still the most versatile, dominant, complete tight end,” an NFC executive said.

The 49ers announced their training camp dates and made tickets available for those interested. The ticket prices are linked below. Also, in today’s links, you’ll read about Andrew Whitworth’s comments about drafting offensive linemen, Mac Jones reflecting on the 2021 NFL Draft, something about Brandon Aiyuk because it’s a day that ends in “Y,” a pair of undrafted defensive tackles on the roster, and one of the 49ers’ minority investors looking to dip his toes into purchasing the Seahawks.

When the San Francisco 49ers didn’t have Trent Williams in the lineup, they defaulted to Austen Pleasants. The same Pleasants who appeared in a pair of meaningless games for the Niners at the end of the 2024 season, once they were eliminated from the playoffs, would be tasked with starting against a pair of playoff teams to end the season. Pleasants was serviceable for a start against the Chicago Bears, but they were one of the luckiest teams in the league, which offered little to no pass rush.

”Some years, injuries to starting quarterbacks are minimal, but that may be when the window opens for someone to trade for Mac Jones. And if the injury happens during training camp or the preseason, quarterback injuries are typically rare in training camp because quarterbacks can’t be touched.

The 2025 season had everything for the San Francisco 49ers: injuries, thrilling victories, and a playoff win. With injuries to cornerstone players like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and George Kittle, the path to victories was made difficult, but the team still finished with 13 wins. It’s safe to say there were plenty of surprises in 2025. Looking back on last season’s statistics has unearthed three surprising stats for the 49ers. Mac Jones and Brock Purdy finished second and third in Adj.