SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As several San Francisco 49ers paraded through their facility's locker room, less than 48 hours after losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime, the enormity of that devastating defeat had already sunk in. They just didn't want to believe it.
At one end of the locker room, defensive end Nick Bosa told reporters he needed time to digest the loss before looking ahead to next season. In the other, left tackle Trent Williams, who is typically one of the team's most thoughtful and expansive interviewees, had little to say. Others, such as running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, receiver Deebo Samuel, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and quarterback Brock Purdy, described their upcoming grieving process.
All of them, including coach Kyle Shanahan, refused to watch what happened at Allegiant Stadium again. No one was sure they could handle it anytime soon. But they made it clear that what happened in Las Vegas certainly won't stay there.
“It really hit me, and then it went away, and then it hit me again and it's like it didn't even seem real,” Samuel said. “It's a different kind of feeling. Like I don't even have the answer… It's like one of the biggest headaches you can deal with.”
Dealing with heartbreak has become an unwanted offseason tradition for the 49ers. It began with their loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV to conclude the 2019 season. In 2021, they came up short in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. In 2022, they played most of another NFC Championship Game without a healthy quarterback in what became a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Each season, the Niners had taken a different, sometimes winding path back to Lombardi's doorstep. The final defeat was always difficult to swallow, but it was often driven by an internal belief that they could come back.
To their credit, the Niners have put action behind those beliefs. But Super Bowl LVIII seemed to be the toughest. Not only because they lost a game that was there for the taking, but also because of the cumulative effect of previous near misses. And they may be running out of possibilities to rectify them, at least in their current version.
“It's heartbreaking,” general manager John Lynch said. “And ultimately, we're going to have to live our whole lives with the reality that we didn't make it this time. But I say this time because it's this moment. It hurts. And right now, everyone is grieving.
“Not everything is going to be okay right away, but you understand that the only thing you can do is use this fuel to propel us forward. And that's where our mindset is, or at least where it will get to at some point.”
Getting to that point might take a little longer this time given how close the Niners came to winning the franchise's coveted but elusive sixth Lombardi Trophy. Memories of a third-quarter punt that bounced off cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.'s foot, guard Spencer Burford's botched protection against Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones on a key third down in overtime, the Chiefs blocking Jake Moody's extra point in the fourth quarter. and countless other plays that could have tipped the game in San Francisco's favor will persist.
That's why the only player in the 49ers locker room who acknowledged rewatching the Super Bowl less than two days after its conclusion was linebacker Fred Warner. The previous Super Bowl loss was the conclusion of Warner's second season in the NFL, and at the time he believed his team could come back and get the job done in short order.
Four years and another Super Bowl loss later, Warner calls that mentality the naivety of a young player who didn't recognize how hard it is to get there or the scars losing a Super Bowl can leave. While what Warner took away from his Super Bowl LVIII repeat was pride in his team's effort, he knows it won't be easy to climb the mountain again even if San Francisco, as expected, retains most of its core of stars and veterans in 2024. .
“It gets easier, but it will stay with you throughout the process,” Warner said. “What gives me hope is knowing how much it means to me, how much it means to this organization, how much it means to Kyle, the players and John, and the things that make up a championship team.
“I know we have those things. You have to act like a champion before you are one. And so, I know it's not a question of if it's just when, and it sucks that it wasn't this time.”
The when part of the equation dominates any discussion about the 49ers. The likes of Warner, Bosa, Kittle, McCaffrey, Samuel and Williams are all under contract for 2024 and beyond. Purdy currently has a meager cap charge of $1.004 million in 2024 and $1.119 million in 2025.
Of course, there are questions that need to be answered in the midst of grief. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk must renew his contract. The Niners would like to keep him long-term, but his rise (75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023) has raised that cost.
Shanahan has a handful of coaches to replace, including defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who was fired three days after the season ended. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw is having an arduous recovery from the torn left Achilles tendon he suffered in the Super Bowl.
From a roster standpoint, the offensive line, defensive line, and secondary all require immediate attention. The receiver and linebacker are not far behind.
For now, the players have gone their separate ways and will overcome this loss however they see fit (and on whatever timeline). For Bosa, that means returning home to Florida and taking some time off before returning to his fitness regimen. Kittle, Juszczyk and McCaffrey have already headed to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for their annual off-season getaway. Purdy is in the final stages of planning her March wedding.
Upon returning from Las Vegas, Shanahan spent his first night home watching Netflix with his family, avoiding anything to do with the Super Bowl. He says he won't see it until he's “ready to do it or when he has to do it.” He doesn't know when that will be. What he does know is that if his team wants to crack the code to finally win it all, he will have to come back and be eager to attack the next climb sooner rather than later.
“This is real,” Shanahan said. “This is something to be regretted…I think our guys are going to be hungrier than ever when they come back from this.”
