The San Francisco 49ers will leave Miami with another defeat, their first losing season since 2020 and, as has been typical of a desperately disappointing year, lots of injuries.

San Francisco's 29-17 defeat to the Dolphins, which came after results in the early window had already eliminated the 49ers from playoff contention, saw their already dire injury situation get much worse.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who made his return from his Super Bowl 58 Achilles injury last week, was pulled from the game early because of tightness in his other calf.

The 49ers also had two offensive linemen, left guard Aaron Banks (knee) and left tackle Jaylon Moore (quad), leave the game in the second half. Banks is believed to have suffered an MCL injury, Kyle Shanahan said afterwards.

Leonard Floyd dealt with a shoulder injury but returned, while linebacker Dee Winters suffered a chest injury.

After the Week 15 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams all but ended the 49ers' playoff hopes, there was no talk from Kyle Shanahan or his players of members of the roster being shut down.

But, with nothing left to play for outside of pride, the reality for the Niners is that now must be a consideration.

Nick Bosa was in and out of the game with knee soreness and, though he will almost certainly attempt to finish out the season, it has reached the point in the calendar where it makes more sense for San Francisco to call it a year for players nursing more severe problems.

No locker room is ever interested in tanking for draft position but, from a San Francisco standpoint, the time is now for the 49ers to start thinking about the players they would like to protect for 2025.

Greenlaw should be chief among them. He proved his worth in under three quarters of play for the Niners against the Rams, illustrating why he will likely be a top priority for San Francisco to re-sign in the offseason. There is little need for him to risk aggravating his injury when further rest would likely be the best thing for it.

After Shanahan conceded it is trending towards All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams missing the rest of the season, the case for the future Hall of Famer being shut down officially is a strong one.

The 49ers won't know the full extent of the injury news from another disheartening result until Monday, but there are likely to be other candidates on the roster who would benefit from having their seasons ended early or from a reduction in snap count that allows the Niners to assess their depth by handing playing time to others.

While draft position is a benefit of a disappointing year for the Niners, any pragmatism as it comes to their personnel at this juncture should be about allowing players to be in the best shape possible for 2025 and self-evaluation as San Francisco approaches an offseason where its roster may have to be dramatically reshaped.

It's not where the 49ers wanted to be following a 2023 season that ended with them going within a play of winning the Super Bowl. However, they and Kyle Shanahan must accept the cold, hard truth of their new reality. 

The 49ers will be determined to put up a fight in primetime in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions but, as thoughts drift towards a Week 18 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals that is meaningless for both teams, San Francisco will need to think hard about balancing the long-term health of the roster against trying to end the year on a high.

Brock Purdy keeps finding ways to make his contract talks more difficult for himself and the 49ers

He isn’t building a strong case.