The Niners had a load of injuries last season. Who will bounce back in 2025?
The San Francisco 49ers were littered with injuries in 2024 on both sides of the ball. While they didn’t play nearly up to their standards, their lack of depth and injuries to top-end players were big reasons for their disappointing 6-11 campaign.
Key contributors like Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Javon Hargrave, Deebo Samuel, Jordan Mason, and others all missed key time last season, creating big holes on both sides of the ball.
Now, heading into 2025, the 49ers are looking better from a health perspective, although a few players are nursing injuries and may not be back for the beginning of training camp.
That leads to the opportunity to have a lot of bounce-back players. So, who could be the team’s top bounce-back player in 2025?
Pro Football Network listed out every team’s top Comeback Player of the Year contender in a recent article, pointing to players who mainly dealt with key injuries in 2024. The 49ers had several viable candidates, with Aiyuk, McCaffrey, and Williams all seeming like logical choices. McCaffrey ended up being the choice, thanks to his stellar play in 2023 and great fit in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
“The San Francisco 49ers dealt with several key injuries in their 2024 season from hell. Brandon Aiyuk, Javon Hargrave, Talanoa Hufanga, and Jordan Mason were all among those who missed time due to injury. In the end, perhaps no absence was as impactful as that of Christian McCaffrey.
“After winning Offensive Player of the Year with 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns in 2023, McCaffrey played just four games in 2024. Injuries have been an issue for him before, as he played just 10 games from 2021 to 2022. However, he’s an elite running back and will be a strong Comeback Player of the Year contender if healthy.”
McCaffrey seems like the most realistic candidate because he’s already looked fresh on the practice field this offseason after playing in only four games last year.
Williams, on the other hand, still played in 10 games and is also a question mark on the injury front, not having played a full season in over a decade.
Aiyuk is also a logical candidate, but it’s unclear when he’ll make his return to the field. He’s likely to be on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to begin training camp, and it’s unclear how he’ll look upon returning to the gridiron.
Looking at FanDuel’s Comeback Player of the Year odds, McCaffrey is currently third on the list at +370 behind only Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (+300) and Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (+320 odds). Unsurprisingly, Aiyuk also made the cut, having the 12th-best odds at +2900.
All three of the top candidates make sense. Prescott only played in eight games before having season-ending surgery for a hamstring injury. Hutchinson was on a tear to start the year before breaking his leg in Week 6. And McCaffrey only played in four games, with Achilles tendonitis and a PCL issue sidelining him for much of the year.
Will McCaffrey be the team’s top bounce-back player in 2025? Or could it be someone else?