The 2020 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 71st in the National Football League (NFL), their 75th overall, and their fourth under the head coach/general manager tandem of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. The 49ers entered the season as the defending NFC champions; however, the 49ers failed to improve on their 13–3 season after a Week 8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and were eliminated from playoff contention after a Week 15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The season saw many key players missing significant time due to injuries, including starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, starting tight-end George Kittle, starting cornerback Richard Sherman, starting wide receiver Deebo Samuel, and 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa. The 49ers season ended with a league-high 18 players on injured reserve. Another notable event was the suspension of home games in Santa Clara County due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the 49ers to play their final three home games at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Offseason
Roster changes
Free agency The 49ers entered free agency with the following: Position Player Free agencytag Date signed 2020 Team Notes WR Emmanuel Sanders UFA March 22, 2020 New Orleans Saints Signed two-year contract FS Jimmie Ward UFA March 24, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed three-year contract CB Jason Verrett UFA April 13, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract DE Arik Armstead UFA March 16, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed five-year contract OT Shon Coleman UFA March 16, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract C Ben Garland UFA March 28, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract TE Levine Toilolo UFA March 18, 2020 New York Giants DE Damontre Moore UFA WR Jordan Matthews UFA CB Dontae Johnson UFA April 13, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract DT Sheldon Day UFA March 25, 2020 Indianapolis Colts DE Anthony Zettel UFA March 25, 2020 Minnesota Vikings DE Ronald Blair UFA March 23, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract LB Elijah Lee RFA March 27, 2020 Detroit Lions RB Matt Breida RFA April 16, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract WR Kendrick Bourne RFA March 17, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Tendered one-year contract OT Andrew Lauderdale ERFA OT Daniel Brunskill ERFA March 5, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Tendered one-year contract TE Ross Dwelley ERFA March 24, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract CB Emmanuel Moseley ERFA July 28, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract QB Nick Mullens ERFA May 1, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Signed one-year contract RB Jeff Wilson ERFA March 5, 2020 San Francisco 49ers Tendered one-year contractRFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent LEGEND Light green background indicates a player has been re-signed by the 49ers. Light red background indicates a player has departed the 49ers.
Signings + Position Player 2019 Team Date signed Notes LB Joe Walker Arizona Cardinals March 24, 2020 Signed one-year contract DE Kerry Hyder Dallas Cowboys March 25, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR Travis Benjamin Los Angeles Chargers April 3, 2020 Signed one-year contract OT Tom Compton New York Jets April 3, 2020 Signed one-year contract CB Jamar Taylor Atlanta Falcons July 6, 2020 Signed one-year contract DE Alex Barrett August 2, 2020 DE Dion Jordan Oakland Raiders August 7, 2020 Signed one-year contract TE Jordan Reed Washington Redskins August 9, 2020 Signed one-year contract OT William Sweet August 12, 2020 Signed one-year contract C Spencer Long Buffalo Bills August 13, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR Tavon Austin Dallas Cowboys August 15, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR J. J. Nelson Oakland Raiders August 15, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR Jaron Brown Seattle Seahawks August 20, 2020 Signed one-year contract SS Johnathan Cyprien Atlanta Falcons August 20, 2020 Signed one-year contract C Hroniss Grasu Baltimore Ravens August 20, 2020 Signed one-year contract TE Erik Swoope August 25, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR River Cracraft Philadelphia Eagles August 27, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR Kevin White August 27, 2020 Signed one-year contract TE MarQueis Gray August 29, 2020 Signed one-year contract OG Hroniss Grasu Baltimore Ravens August 29, 2020 Signed one-year contract DE Alex Barrett August 30, 2020 Signed one-year contract DE Cameron Malveaux Washington Redskins September 2, 2020 Signed one-year contract WR Mohamed Sanu New England Patriots September 18, 2020 Signed one-year contract DE Ezekiel Ansah Seattle Seahawks September 23, 2020 Signed one-year contract TE Daniel Helm September 30, 2020 Signed one-year contract LS Taybor Pepper September 30, 2020 Signed one-year contract CB Parnell Motley October 13, 2020 claimed off waivers DE Takkarist McKinley November 18, 2020 claimed off waivers Indicates that the player was a free agent at the end of his respective team's season.
Departures Position Player Date Notes TE Garrett Celek February 7, 2020 Retired DT DeForest Buckner March 18, 2020 Traded G Mike Person April 1, 2020 Released OT Joe Staley April 25, 2020 Retired LB Joey Alfieri July 28, 2020 Waived CB Jermaine Kelly S Derrick Kindred G Ray Smith DT Willie Henry DE Alex Barrett July 30, 2020 Waived OT Leonard Wester Released FS D. J. Reed August 4, 2020 Waived S Chris Edwards DE Alex Barrett August 13, 2020 Waived TE Daniel Helm August 15, 2020 Waived WR Chris Thompson C Spencer Long August 16, 2020 Retired WR Jaron Brown August 27, 2020 Released DE Jonathan Kongbo Waived TE Erik Swoope August 29, 2020 Waived OT Kofi Amichia DE Alex Barrett September 5, 2020 Released WR River Cracraft SS Johnathan Cyprien OG Hroniss Grasu TE MarQueis Gray WR Jauan Jennings CB Dontae Johnson DE Dion Jordan DE Cameron Malveaux WR Shawn Poindexter OG Dakoda Shepley OT William Sweet CB Jamar Taylor LB Joe Walker WR Kevin White CB Tim Harris OT Jaryd Jones-Smith OG Ross Reynolds Waived LS Kyle Nelson September 30, 2020 Waived WR Mohamed Sanu October 6, 2020 Released TE Daniel Helm October 20, 2020 Waived DE Alex Barrett October 26, 2020 Waived CB Parnell Motley WR Dante Pettis November 3, 2020 Waived DE Jullian Taylor LB Kiko Alonso November 23, 2020 Waived
Trades On October 27, the 49ers traded their 2022 sixth-round selection to the New York Jets for defensive end Jordan Willis and 2021 seventh-round selection. On November 2, the 49ers traded Kwon Alexander to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a fifth-round conditional pick in the 2021 NFL draft and LB Kiko Alonso.
Draft
2020 San Francisco 49ers Draft Round Selection Player Position College Note1 14 Javon Kinlaw DT South Carolina From Tampa Bay 25 Brandon Aiyuk WR Arizona State From Minnesota 5 153 Colton McKivitz OT West Virginia From Miami 6 190 Charlie Woerner TE Georgia From Philadelphia 7 217 Jauan Jennings WR Tennessee From Detroit Notes The 49ers traded LB Eli Harold to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection. The 49ers traded their second-round selection to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for DE Dee Ford. The 49ers traded their third- and fourth-round selections to the Denver Broncos in exchange for WR Emmanuel Sanders and Denver's fifth-round selection. The 49ers traded DT DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a first-round selection (No. 13th overall). The 49ers traded their first- and a seventh-round selection (13th and 245th overall) to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a first- and a fourth-round pick (14th and 117th overall). The 49ers traded their first-, fourth- and fifth-round selections (31st, 117th and 176th overall) to Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a first-round pick (No. 25th overall). The 49ers traded their RB Matt Breida to Miami Dolphins in exchange for a fifth-round pick (No. 153rd overall). The 49ers traded their fifth-round selection (No. 156th overall) and a 2021 third-round selection to Washington Redskins in exchange for OT Trent Williams. The 49ers traded their WR Marquise Goodwin and a sixth-round selection (No. 210th overall) to Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a sixth-round selection (No. 190th overall).
Undrafted free agents 2020 San Francisco 49ers Undrafted Free Agents Position Player College Notes CB DeMarkus Acy Missouri Waived on August 20 DT Darrion Daniels Nebraska Released on September 5 WR Chris Finke Notre Dame Waived on July 28 LB Jonas Griffith Indiana State Waived on August 20 TE Chase Harrell Arkansas Released on September 5 RB JaMycal Hasty Baylor Released on September 5 FB Josh Hokit Fresno State Released on September 5 S Jared Mayden Alabama Released on September 5 QB Broc Rutter North Central Waived on July 28 RB Salvon Ahmed Washington Waived on August 25 S Evan Foster Syracuse Released on September 5
Staff
Final roster
Preseason The 49ers' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Week Date Opponent Venue Result 1 at Denver Broncos Empower Field at Mile High Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2 Las Vegas Raiders Levi's Stadium 3 at Chicago Bears Soldier Field 4 Los Angeles Chargers Levi's Stadium
Regular season
Schedule The 49ers' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Arizona Cardinals L 20–24 0–1 Levi's Stadium Recap 2 September 20 at New York Jets W 31–13 1–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 3 September 27 at New York Giants W 36–9 2–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 4 October 4 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–25 2–2 Levi's Stadium Recap 5 October 11 Miami Dolphins L 17–43 2–3 Levi's Stadium Recap 6 October 18 Los Angeles Rams W 24–16 3–3 Levi's Stadium Recap 7 October 25 at New England Patriots W 33–6 4–3 Gillette Stadium Recap 8 November 1 at Seattle Seahawks L 27–37 4–4 CenturyLink Field Recap 9 Green Bay Packers L 17–34 4–5 Levi's Stadium Recap 10 November 15 at New Orleans Saints L 13–27 4–6 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 11 Bye 12 November 29 at Los Angeles Rams W 23–20 5–6 SoFi Stadium Recap 13 Buffalo Bills L 24–34 5–7 State Farm Stadium Recap 14 December 13 Washington Football Team L 15–23 5–8 State Farm Stadium Recap 15 December 20 at Dallas Cowboys L 33–41 5–9 AT&T Stadium Recap 16 at Arizona Cardinals W 20–12 6–9 State Farm Stadium Recap 17 January 3, 2021 Seattle Seahawks L 23–26 6–10 State Farm Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals
With this loss, The defending NFC Champions started off 0-1
Week 2: at New York Jets
Although the 49ers won easily over the struggling Jets, they suffered devastating injuries on both sides of the ball to Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Nick Bosa, and Solomon Thomas. It got so bad the team's MRI truck broke down. The win brought the 49ers to 1-1 on the season.
Week 3: at New York Giants
With Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined, Nick Mullens made his first start since 2018. He threw for 343 yards and a touchdown in a blowout win over the Giants, bringing the 49ers up to 2-1 for the season.
Week 4: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
With this loss, the 49ers dropped to 2–2. Nick Mullens struggled mightily in the game with two interceptions, one of which was returned by Alex Singleton for a touchdown, and was benched afterwards for C. J. Beathard. The 49ers drove all the way to within field goal range down by 5, but the clock ran out.
Week 5: vs. Miami Dolphins
With this embarrassing loss, the 49ers dropped to 2–3, already matching last season's loss total. Jimmy Garoppolo returned from injury but struggled mightily with 2 interceptions, leading to him being benched at halftime for C. J. Beathard.
Week 6: vs. Los Angeles Rams
The 49ers bounced back from the previous week. Jimmy Garoppolo threw 3 touchdowns and 268 yards and the 49ers defense was able to hold a red-hot Rams offense in check. With this win, they improved to 3–3, and won their third straight meeting against the Rams.