49ers Receiving Extra Motivation This Offseason

The San Francisco 49ers might be getting a little slept on this offseason, especially in the NFC West.

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off an impressive 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Seahawks lost several notable players like Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant in free agency, but the team retained several core veterans from the Super Bowl team.

The Los Angeles Rams are a favorite to win the Super Bowl after trading for Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett.

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Still, the 49ers finished 12-5 last season and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.

During an appearance on NFL Media’s “The Insiders” on Friday, San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk likes where the team is at this offseason. The 49ers are relishing being written off before the regular season.

“We feel great about where our team is at,” Juszczyk said. “The fact that we won 13 games last season with all that we had to deal with, I think that’s easy to forget. And rightfully so. The Seahawks won a Super Bowl, the Rams had a great season, they had some great additions in the offseason, so I can understand why that is the case.

“But I think we feel great about where we’re at. I love our squad. I think that we have only improved. Guys are getting healthy. We added Mike Evans and Osa (Odighizuwa) on defense, which I think both of those guys are going to make such an impact. I think we’re sitting in a good spot. If people want to forget about us, that’s fantastic. That’s a good place to be sometimes.”

The 49ers are a piece or two away from competing for the Super Bowl. There has been chatter that San Francisco is interested in adding a defensive end before the regular season, that could certainly help them chase the Rams.

It’s hard to write off any team (if healthy) led by head coach Kyle Shanahan. But the NFC West is the toughest division in the league by far, and San Francisco looks like the third-best team on paper in it.

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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 5:18 PM.