SANTA CLARA — The 49ers have closed shop on the 2025 season, but we’re keeping our social-media mailbag open to answer The Faithful’s outcries:

Q: What happened to the run game this year? Shanahan was so good at it. Was it personnel OL/RB? Desire or need to use Purdy more? (@gonzal7757)

A: The 49ers averaged under 4 yards per carry for the first time in 20 years. They averaged 3.8 yards per carry overall, and Christian McCaffrey was kept to 3.9 ypc., his lowest mark in a full season as a starter. That average fell to 3.2 yards in each of McCaffrey’s playoff outings.

Still a league MVP finalist for his all-around efforts, he couldn’t find and/or didn’t have lanes to break big runs. His longest were 24- and 41-yard bursts against Indianapolis and Chicago in December. Purdy had the 49ers’ second-longest run with a 26-yard scramble against Tennessee. Why? Defenses were there to smother ball carriers, with no fear of a receiver stretching the field.

Q: Why do the 49ers have such bad luck with drafting receivers? Cowlings and Watkins are complete mysteries. (@Talk2Nordy)

A: Jerry Rice, 1985 first round. Terrell Owens, 1996 third round. … But I digress. Surely you mean this 49ers’ regime, which devoted first-round picks to Brandon Aiyuk (2020) and Ricky Pearsall (2024), plus a 2019 second-rounder on Deebo Samuel, their lone Pro Bowl wide receiver. Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins were fourth-round picks from the last two drafts, and they fill the 49ers’ need for speed, but injuries made them non-factors this season.

The draft is a crap shoot. Not every general manager can discover the NFL’s all-time greatest receiver while watching local television highlights in a Houston hotel room with a margarita in hand. John Lynch does get credit for a seventh-round find in 2020: Jauan Jennings, who might be worth a $28 million franchise tag to keep this spring.

Q: What are they gonna do about Aiyuk? (@DukeLacrosse5)

A: Aiyuk went incommunicado, and “it’s safe to say that he has played his last snap with the Niners,” general manager John Lynch said. Severing his contract could come in the form of a long-shot trade, or more likely a post-June release to spread out his salary cap damage ($29 million or less) from an ill-fated 2024 extension.

Q: When will Kyle really charge his philosophy and get maulers at the offensive line. They have yet to draft a blue-chip player since 2020. (@JFromTheBay49)

A: They’ve extended right tackle Colton McKivitz (three years, $45 million) and dug in at right guard with two-year starter Dominick Puni. Left guard is the only open spot, unless they ditch center Jake Brendel, Brock Purdy’s batterymate since 2022. If they spend their first-round pick on an offensive lineman, it would be for a left tackle to succeed Trent Williams in a year or two.

Q: Are we going to get a new strength and conditioning/training staff? (@mhorodas)

A: Everything is under consideration. Maybe they just need a healthier electrical substation. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Q: Does Kyle Shanahan have any thoughts on making changes to staff in terms of training, health, strength and conditioning? I think we can all agree that this team has been the most injured for a while. (@Willsoneuphman)

A: Shanahan was mute on the subject Wednesday while Lynch replied: “We’ve spent a lot of time and effort in recruiting really quality people and I think being at the forefront of injury prevention…. What we strive to do is never to eliminate injuries, but to mitigate injuries, and I think we have a lot of good processes. We’ll challenge them all. That process has begun. It never frankly stopped, but yes, we’ll look at everything and we’ll examine everything.”

Q: Can Kyle get it done? Objectively his best chance was in ’23 — best roster he’s ever coached, against the weakest version of the Chiefs he’s ever faced and the result was the same. Is it time to move on from Kyle? Answer better be yes after nine years and no championships (@aoropeza85)

A: This was Shanahan’s finest year coaching, teaching, inspiring and squeezing what he could from an injury-riddled roster. They made the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. Unlike past seasons, the 49ers were clutch late in games. Their six defeats were no-doubters, and none came in back-to-back fashion. The 2026 season could be the charm.

Q: I hope Saleh and Shanahan hoist the Lombardi one day. Love them so much. So much passion. They deserve it. (@SewageDoubtfire)

A: Super Bowl LXI: 49ers vs. Titans, next Feb. 14, Levi’s South, Inglewood.