Patrick Willis thinks the 49ers aren’t as loaded as they have been and the depth could be an issue.
Is the 49ers’ Super Bowl window shut? Their Hall of Fame linebacker doesn’t think that, but there’s less space than in prior years.
Going into 2024, the question was whether the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl window was closing. Before kickoff, it already had a “Last Dance” vibe. Then it happened, and the less said the better.
With the 2025 season a week away and so many roster changes, has that window already slammed shut?
Former 49ers linebacker and Hall of Famer Patrick Willis sat down with GamesHub for an interview. The “Super Bowl Window” topic came up, and Willis was candid (as many may remember him during his playing days). While he didn’t say the window is closed, it’s not wide open either:
“If we’re being truthful, I’ll say that the window is getting thinner. It’s thin. That’s why I really feel like they’ll have to be exact all year long. Every team needs a healthy team, but for them it’s really going to be significant. I know they don’t have the depth they once had in those strong years. Usually when a team is really good and has a strong chance, they have depth.
“I know they are not as loaded as in years past, so I’m looking at that veteran leadership. It’s going to take them, every week, looking into that window of reality and saying, ‘Listen, this could be our last go-round together.’ We hope that it’s not, but it very well could be for some of those guys. It’s really important they maximize it. It’s going to take everything they have been, and more. It’s a lot to ask, but why not? They have done it.”
One of the knocks on the 49ers: they’re top-heavy. You saw this before your eyes during the 2024 season when injuries came early and “next man up” didn’t yield anything special. The same can be said about the 2025 team—and the injuries came during training camp.
This was visible during the preseason. While most of the starters sat, you saw struggles as the games went on. Sure, the excuse for the 49ers’ preseason games was “so and so wasn’t playing.” The problem is, injuries happen, and having a fully healthy roster for all 17 weeks of an NFL season rarely—if ever—happens.
Sure, the window is thinner—but that doesn’t mean the 49ers can’t rip it back open based on what we’ve seen. The 49ers had a great 2024 draft, and the 2025 draft picks appear to be promising contributors as well. If that does happen, that’s two excellent drafts, one after another, that help the team get younger and also push the window the other direction.
When healthy, the 49ers are still formidable. Willis is right: the window is thinner, and another strong draft—or just fixing the offensive line—might be the difference.
Category: General Sports
