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Last season, the San Francisco 49ers finished 6-11, and heading into 2025, Kyle Shanahan and his team will look for a bounce-back year. It will be a challenging campaign with the Los Angeles Rams looking to retain their NFC West title.
While winning the division is important, 49ers linebacker Dee Winters stated on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” that the expectation for the team is to reach Super Bowl LX, considering that the big game will be held at Levi’s Stadium.
“I mean, the expectation is to win a Super Bowl, but in order to do that, we gotta take every day one day at a time, and just do the best of our ability that one day, and hopefully, we’ll be back here in the Bay in February,” Winters said.
49ers will count on young players like Dee Winters
If San Francisco wants to return to the postseason and reach another Super Bowl under Shanahan, their young players—especially on defense—will need to take developmental steps that have them playing like seasoned veterans this season.
Moreover, Winters provided a promising update on his younger teammates, as it appears they are ahead of where he was when breaking into the NFL in 2023.
“To be honest, I think that first year was a huge curveball for me, actually being in the box, playing a linebacker,” Winters stated in the same interview on 95.7 The Game. “I would say my process was a little different rather than some of the people on our team.
“So I think, as far as D-linemen, cornerbacks, and safeties and stuff like that, I think they’ve done a really good job of coming in, learning the playbook faster, and processing everything. And I’m excited for them.”
Are the young 49ers ready for major roles?
Like Winters is ready to step up and replace former 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, other young players are ready to play alongside the veterans Fred Warner and Nick Bosa on defense.
“I think a bunch of young guys are excited for this opportunity that we have, including me,” Winters added. “So I think everybody has done a great job of coming in every day, trying to get better and improving ourselves and we’re excited for Week 1 and for the season.”
September presents a month that San Francisco can take advantage of as the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers’ Week 1 opponent, are the only team that recorded double-digit wins (10-7) last season.
The 49ers will face the New Orleans Saints (Week 2), Arizona Cardinals (Week 3), and Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 4) to start the first month of the 2025 season. All three of these teams failed to make the playoffs last season, so while no game in the NFL is an easy win, this is a favorable schedule for San Francisco to start the campaign.
Shanahan and Co. can get off on the right foot before heading into their marquee matchup with the Rams on October 2, whom they’ll need to go through if they want to win the NFC West this season.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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