These five players certainly did more harm than good to the 49ers over the course of 2024.
Good teams are comprised of good players, and those good players do good things over the course of the good team's season.
The exact opposite is typically said of bad teams.
The 2024 San Francisco 49ers are a bit of an anomaly, though. Boasting a roster full of All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent, including four players named as Pro Bowl starters despite a 6-11 finish, the Niners were nevertheless disappointing over the course of the year.
Sure, injuries played a major role in San Francisco's demise from being a perennial powerhouse. But there were plenty of players who own blame for all that went wrong over the course of 2024.
Particularly those who commanded a hefty chunk of change for their services.
Let's look at five who performed well below their expected levels.
No. 1: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk
It's hard to fault left tackle Trent Williams and running back Christian McCaffrey, both of whom missed sizable chunks of the season because of injuries after demanding more money from the 49ers last offseason. In McCaffrey's case, he only appeared in three games after returning from Achilles tendinitis and before going back on injured reserve with a PCL injury.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, however, is in a slightly different category.
Following a drama-filled offseason that included a high-profile extension standoff, cryptic social media posts and trade rumors, Aiyuk finally received a new contract worth up to $120 million.
Managing to play seven games before suffering both MCL and ACL tears, Aiyuk never came close to justifying that contract, boasting just one game with 50-plus receiving yards (Week 5 with 147) while looking sluggish and out of sync with quarterback Brock Purdy.
Aiyuk's offseason distraction might be to blame, and one can only guess whether or not he would have gotten up to speed if it wasn't for the injuries.
Still, Aiyuk came nowhere close to meeting the desired levels.
No. 2: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel
Aiyuk can at least partially blame a season-ending injury, whereas fellow wideout Deebo Samuel has to take a serious look at his own efforts to get back to the 2021 All-Pro form that turned him into a household name.
And earned him a lot of money in subsequent years, too.
Samuel was a massive disappointment in 2024, notching only 670 receiving yards and three touchdowns over 15 games while losing the rushing edge (averaging 3.2 yards per carry) that once made him such a unique dual-threat weapon.
Tack on his own social media posts, brutal dropped passes and public call-out of teammates, and it's no wonder why some within the fanbase feel the 49ers would be better off without Samuel than retaining him.
No. 3: Linebacker De'Vondre Campbell
There's been enough said about veteran linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, specifically after he opted to quit on his team in-game, an action that resulted in a three-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the Niners.
Campbell wasn't even the first choice for San Francisco to keep the proverbial "seat warm" while awaiting the return of star backer Dre Greenlaw from last February's Achilles tear. Yet Campbell clearly didn't take Greenlaw's inspirational return from injury well.
It'd be one thing if Campbell was playing at a high level up to that point, outplaying the one-year deal worth up to $5 million he received to join the 49ers.
But the one-time All-Pro was a bigger liability on defense than a bonus.
Tack on all that went down with his controversial decision, and it's not hard to point a large finger at Campbell.
No. 4: Kicker Jake Moody
Kicker Jake Moody is going to receive no shortage of flak from 2024, especially after finishing the year with an embarrassing 70.6 field-goal percentage by missing 10 of his 34 tries.
Granted, nine of them came after suffering a high-ankle sprain in his kicking leg midseason, and injuries can be blamed for the woeful inadequacy thereafter.
However, considering he was supposed to take a substantial leap in year two after the Niners invested a third-round pick on him in the 2023 NFL Draft, it's safe to say Moody came nowhere close to living up to expectations.
Moody left 31 points off the board with his misses, including a missed extra point.
One can only wonder what San Francisco's regular-season record would have been if those 31 points were added back somehow.
No. 5: Punter Mitch Wishnowsky
Like Moody, punter Mitch Wishnowsky dealt with an injury that derailed his 2024 campaign.
Unlike Moody, Wishnowsky wasn't particularly effective prior to dealing with his season-ending back issue.
Wishnowsky boasted a career-low 36.3 net yards per punt on the year. And while some of that can be blamed on special teams woes as a whole, the fact this particular specialist commanded a cap hit worth up to $2.825 million in 2024 suggests a massive overspend on the 49ers' part.
Especially when the former fourth-round NFL draftee's replacement, Pat O'Donnell, averaged 3 yards better on the net average.
And at a significantly cheaper cost.
All contractual information, courtesy of Over the Cap.