by How Sherman thinks the 49ers can keep the title window open after 2024 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Even though the 49ers’ 2024 NFL season isn’t officially over yet, their chances of making another Super Bowl, let alone securing a playoff berth, are microscopic.
While many outside the organization believe this is the final year of San Francisco’s championship window, former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman disagrees, even if/when the 49ers (5-7) are eliminated from the playoffs in the coming weeks.
Sherman was asked by co-host Mitch Eisenstein on the latest episode of “The Richard Sherman Podcast” about the state of San Francisco’s championship window beyond this season, and explained how he thought it could remain open in the future.
“I don’t know if this is going to be the end, it’s going to be a real, real challenge going forward, and it’s going to depend on the scouting department and the front office where they lost a lot of people,” Sherman explained. .
“…And that’s going to be their biggest challenge this year, finding young guys to fill those gaps. You’re going to have to find young offensive linemen who have to play at a very high level. They found a right guard in [Dominick] I think Puni will be around for a while, but you’ll probably have to find another center. I’m not sure [Jake] Brendel is the long term answer. You’ll probably need to find another young left guard to compete at the position. You’re going to have to find an heir apparent for Trent Williams whenever he decides to retire and hang it up.”
Sherman ultimately believes the 49ers’ top half is too talented to undergo a rebuild and that the team needs more depth behind its star players to help compensate for injuries and prepare for veteran departures. aging.
“That’s what it’s going to have to be. I don’t think the window is closed, I think it’s too talented a team and I know everyone wants to say either you’re in the Super Bowl, either you are bankrupt, or you are not. [a Super Bowl team]but there’s too much talent on this team for that to be the case,” Sherman added. “Now they need to find more depth, they need to find more below the superstars to make this team more cohesive, because they are so heavy.
“When you lose a guy or two, it goes off the rails so quickly on both sides of the football. If you lose Christian McCaffrey, you lost him for a while, you found Jordan Mason, so that helped. Now it’s good But then you lose Brandon Aiyuk and you lose a lot of your offense pushing the ball down the field, and now it seems like you don’t understand how to push the ball down the field. your entire offensive line is different.”
The 49ers, after an ugly 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night at Highmark Stadium, are two games behind the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) for first place in the NFC West and 2.5 games behind the Commanders from Washington (8-5) for the third and final wild-card spot.
The 49ers’ return to the playoffs is not impossible, but unlikely. And if San Francisco’s offseason does indeed begin as early as Jan. 5 around 1 p.m. PT after the Week 18 game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sherman believes coach Kyle Shanahan and president of operations football/general manager John Lynch have their work cut out for them. them.
“I think they’re going to have to show that they can expand and add more depth to get this team back to where it needs to be next season, but I don’t think it’s over,” Sherman concluded.
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