The San Francisco 49ers had ambitions of going one better than their agonizing defeat in the Super Bowl last season in the 2024 campaign. They certainly did not have any plans on this season ending this weekend.

But a campaign defined by injuries and a failure to finish games in the fourth quarter will come to an end on Sunday when the 49ers face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, San Francisco having been condemned to its first losing season since 2020.

While that is obviously a huge disappointment for the Niners, they are likely to have the advantage of picking in the top half of the 2025 draft, and head coach Kyle Shanahan laid out another upside to San Francisco falling well short of expectations.

Responding to a question about claims from general manager John Lynch that Shanahan is excited to have a full offseason to address the Niners’ shortcomings, he told a press conference: “I’d be much more excited to not have one, and to go all the way to February again, but that is tough.

“When you go that long, everyone needs to get away. And by the time you come back, that’s usually right when free agency is starting, and you’re not totally quite there yet.

“So it’s gonna be our first time since, I think, Covid being off in January, and it gives you more time to figure things out. It gives you time to go through the things like the cut-ups and stuff. You can finish most of that stuff all before the Super Bowl. And then, you’re ready to go to other stuff like the draft and free agency and all that as soon as the Super Bowl ends.

“Just being a lot more ahead of that [work for 2025] is real exciting, and I’m ready to get to it. We’ve been knowing we’re out of the playoffs here for a little bit, and everything’s about finishing this year up the right way, and not cutting anything short, finishing your job. But I’ve also been able to look to when I can start improving next year and making sure we’re not in this position again.”

Shanahan is used to having a race against time to prepare for the offseason and prior to last year, those battles against the passage of time have come in years in which the 49ers have not had a first-round pick.

In 2025, the 49ers will have the luxury of time and likely a premium selection in the draft.

The 49ers’ disappointing 2024 comes with plenty of caveats, most notably the number of injuries. But, with their resources and preparation time for 2025, there will be a lot more scrutiny on Shanahan and Co. if the Niners do not rise to the occasion next season.