Is this the last ride of the current Niners as we know them?

No.

Also...."as we know them" is a bit overstating things.

The fact is, the team always changes. I think many fans do not realize we have zero DBs, QBs, Olinemen and RBs (minus Juice) from that 2019 SB run on the current roster. Zero. Just three seasons later, the team is pretty different, with few mainstays being the guys who are really good and are core of the team. And yet it is considered a part of the same window.

This "window" people are talking about is over rated. It really just a time where we are "favored" to win. People now saying we are very top heavy, yet everyone also thinks we have the deepest roster in the league. The bottom line is change happens...lots of change...every year. It's up to the team to keep a good core AND replace pieces. As long as that happens, that "window" stays open. People freaking out over the salary cap because of the Bosa deal? Psh. The salary cap goes up every year (barring Covid). And changes, some inevitable ones, are going to bring cap relief. How many years does Juice have left? When he retires, we go from having the highest paid FB in the league (by far!) to a replacement making 800k. Trent Williams already considered retirement last season. So how long will he continue to play? When he retires, he will be leaving a HUGE HOLE to replace - no question about it. But even if we use a 1st round pick on the replacement, we'll be moving from a 25+ million dollar a year player to 4-6 million. Purdy going to go from 800k a year to sigining some 200 million dollar mega deal, getting Mahommes / Burrow money in 2 years? I highly doubt it. Sure he'll get a huge bump, assuming he continues to play as well as he has and improves. I just don't see him being in that top 5 or so superstar level.

And Paraag is only 47 - so hopefully he'll be around to figure things out financially for a long time to come, still!

Not to mention what about all these other teams that were over the cap this off-season or bumping up against it? There were tons of restructures by other teams as well. Saints being one of the more famous cases. That being said, we need to continue to hit on our later round picks and stop fooling around with our 1st rounders. Bosa, Aiyuk and to a much lesser extent McGlinchey have only been successful first round stories from this regime. Niners MUST be better here.

Magic carpet ride to the SB

Originally posted by the_dynasty:
Also...."as we know them" is a bit overstating things.

The fact is, the team always changes. I think many fans do not realize we have zero DBs, QBs, Olinemen and RBs (minus Juice) from that 2019 SB run on the current roster. Zero. Just three seasons later, the team is pretty different, with few mainstays being the guys who are really good and are core of the team. And yet it is considered a part of the same window.

You beat me to it. From the Super Bowl: The entire o line, the entire secondary, running backs and quarterbacks are all gone. Three starting caliber d lineman, a linebacker, 3 WRs are all gone.

We think of this as "one team" that has had 3 chances in 4 years but we've had a ton of turnover.

Originally posted by swoosh6996:

Originally posted by thl408:
I think this season and next will be prime opportunities to win a SB. A lot can change in one season so it's hard to predict anything beyond that.

This. And a lot will depend on the development of Purdy being the long-term franchise QB. If he doesn't, then we may be looking at a regime change as well.

Ugh. I don't even want to think about that scenario.

Originally posted by fropwns:

ESPN paints a bleak picture: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38333874/49ers-super-bowl-championship-window-2023-season

But honestly, I do not think they are wrong. For better or worse, our window, which it feels like we are trying to pry open, is closing. Maybe not as fast as the doom and gloomers like to think, but perhaps at a pace where we certainly will see the names on the back of the jerseys changing at a steady clip.

Your thoughts?

I love this quote from Trent:

"Super Bowl is at the top of everybody's priority list right now," Williams said. "Worrying about when the window closes really does nothing for us right now. It's like worrying about when you're going to die. It is going to close eventually, but what's the point of looking forward to it?"

A top 5 QB on a rookie contract makes it all OK.

as long as he's on the sideline the window is open

Players come and go. If you have a blueprint and a strong reputation the window doesn't close for a long time. Look how long the Patriots kept the window open.

Originally posted by Jakemall:
Players come and go. If you have a blueprint and a strong reputation the window doesn't close for a long time. Look how long the Patriots kept the window open.

Agreed....even with the Chiefts...they had to make a tough decision and move on from Tyreek. Then they go on to win the SB. I hope Aiyuk can be kept long term but if not, we'll address the position.

We can't keep everyone.....there will be guys let go....but I think we can sustain this especially if Purdy is real.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

as long as he's on the sideline the window is open

Agree

Salary cap may become more of an issue when (if) we have to pay Brock. People thinking the salary cap increases will save us act like that's some secret knowledge that agents don't know about when contracts clearly already reflect it. Not saying that won't help at all, just pointing out that's already baked in.

That said, our window only really closes if we blow all of our draft picks. We have enough talent to miss a few more than average without it sinking us. The road may be tougher, but it's not like it goes from easy to impossible. I have faith we'll at least be competitive.

Is this the last ride of the current Niners as we know them?

To some extent, yes, as is the case annually, but probably not to the extent where we're asking "Who TF are these guys?".

We'll just have to continue to draft well in later rounds and start drafting, and drafting well in the early rounds. We'll be alright.

Originally posted by JoseCortez:
All this restructuring is just delaying the inevitable- cap hell

Absolutely. You can't restructure forever. Sooner or later the players get paid. Check the salaries for next season and you'll see 6 players scheduled to make over $20 million. I haven't seen Bosa's new contract details but if his salary is about $25 million next year then they have about $157 million tied up with 6 players. I know they're going to restructure but that's stili. a lot of work to fit them under the cap. We may see a couple of players traded or released.