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When the 49ers hit the practice field on Wednesday — without Fred Warner, which still seems unimaginable or against the law or both — it will be the first official day of the rest of their three-year cycle.

It’s not that they’re mentally moving on from the 2025 season. Of course not. They’re 4-2. The schedule is, as already displayed, not difficult. They still have some very good players who are healthy enough or about to get healthy enough to stay competitive through the regular season and possibly longer.

But the 49ers were always very calculated about their expectations for this season after the 2024 tumble and resulting offseason roster and payroll change-over.

This is Year 1 of a three-year competitive cycle, Kyle Shanahan suggested to me at the start of training camp. And (this part is me, not him) you always want to win now, but in Year 1, you really are aiming for a top-out in Years 2 and 3.

Then add Warner’s devastating ankle injury to Nick Bosa’s previous devastating season-ending knee injury, and all the other problematic injuries still lingering on this roster headed into Sunday’s game at Levi’s Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons …

And what you have is a franchise that has to think about building a Super Bowl-level team with a healthy Bosa and Warner in 2026 and 2027 as much or more than obsessing about navigating these choppy waters to get to 10-7 and a lower-rung playoff seeding without two of the best players in the league.

So there will be no trading of a premium draft pick or two for someone who’d cost too much money into the future once Bosa and Warner are back (read: Cincinnati pass rusher Trey Hendrickson and probably a few other options) and likely wouldn’t nudge the 49ers up to a top NFC playoff seed, anyway.

They need their 2026 draft picks more than they need incremental help over the next two-and-a-half months.

“We’re looking for things that make sense for our team right now and in the future,” Shanahan said Monday. “Not having Fred makes that harder, but I don’t see a big difference between Sunday before that game started and today.”

Think of this as a parallel moment to the 2018 season, when the 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo early on and methodically went ahead through their build-up to the 2019 Super Bowl run; and 2019, to be precise, is when Shanahan and John Lynch made the big deadline trade for Emmanuel Sanders as the last, necessary piece.

The dynamics are not exactly the same — in 2018, Shanahan and Lynch were in their second season in charge; they’re in Season 9 together now, veterans of four postseason trips, and the roster is far, far more expensive.

Back then, they had no shot at a playoff run without Garoppolo (and before Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, and Deebo Samuel were drafted). They’ve still got a real chance right now.

But they set up 2025 as the restart of something, not the middle or climax. The loss of Warner, with a full recovery planned for the start of camp next season, obviously isn’t changing any of that plan; it’s only underlining the broader calculations and importance of 2026 and 2027.

There is one continuing and extending facet of this current moment, though. It’s not really being talked about too much, in the wake of all the injury chaos. But if you think about the deeper significance of what the 49ers are doing now and what it means for the next few seasons, and I’ve got one large theme:

Now this is really, really, REALLY Brock Purdy’s team.

And once he’s healthy enough to play again, possibly by Sunday, he’s more than capable of showing that.

Of course, I don’t expect Purdy to push himself into the middle of team huddles and supply the fire and brimstone that Warner famously has provided all these years. That’s just not Purdy’s personality and it’d probably look awkward if he tried.

(Early break-the-huddle favorites: Deommodore Lenoir and, if he’s healthy, George Kittle. Then naturally back to Warner next year.)

And no doubt, it has been an odd start to 2025 for the 49ers’ QB1. Purdy threw two interceptions in Week 1, got hurt, threw two more picks in his comeback, and aggravated his toe; meanwhile Mac Jones has played very confidently, and has won three out of his four starts replacing Purdy.

So yes, given Shanahan’s past and current admiration for Jones, the chatter about a QB Controversy was predictable and somewhat understandable. But only if you don’t realize how much Shanahan, Lynch, the locker room, and Jed York are emotionally and financially committed to Purdy and if you continue to underestimate just how good Purdy’s been through the highs of 2022 and 2023 and even through the dips last year and through two games of 2025.

Just a few statistics that might clarify things, remember, in a notable career revival for Jones and a sub-standard, dinged-up, miniature sample size for Purdy …

• Jones’ passer rating so far this season: 93.7.

Purdy’s passer rating so far this season, when he’s played two games: 85.8.

That’s a difference that, I guess, can launch a thousand blog posts, but not a legitimate QB Controversy.

• Jones’ yards per pass attempt this season, when he’s been chucking it at very high rate: 7.5. (He’s at 6.8 yards per attempt in his career.)

Purdy’s yards per pass attempt this season: 8.0. (He’s at 8.8 in his career.)

Hmm.

• And Jones’ QBR — which uses many more game-situation and non-passing stats like fumbles and sacks taken — this season: 52.9.

Purdy’s QBR this season: 66.0.

No doubt, Jones has been very productive and has been given a rare Shanahan green light to heave it 40 or so times a game. And Jones hasn’t had close to a full complement of offensive weapons and still has won games. But he’s had Christian McCaffrey in the lineup, which is sort of important.

Purdy had a 96.1 rating last season when he didn’t have close to a full complement of offensive weapons — and that included McCaffrey’s absence for most of the season.

So, no, this is not parallel to the current successful QB flip in Indianapolis. Jones might have the same last name and a comparable background and skill set to new Colts QB1 Daniel Jones, but Purdy sure isn’t Anthony Richardson.

And it’s not at all like the last true 49ers midseason QB flip, which happened back in 2012, because Purdy has accomplished a lot more than Alex Smith ever did with the 49ers and Mac Jones sure as heck isn’t a comp for Colin Kaepernick.

But that doesn’t mean Purdy has nothing to prove in 2025 and beyond. When he’s healthy, he has to continue to show that he can move the offense and motivate the entire team.

He probably won’t do all that with speeches or 400-yard passing days. Purdy just has to hold himself and his teammates accountable and he has to be the guy the entire organization can count on.

And that will carry into 2026, no matter what happens the rest of this season.

Purdy’s already earned a lot of this trust — you should’ve seen the come on, of course! looks both Bosa and Trent Williams gave me in recent weeks when I’ve asked whether Purdy can carry this team.

It’s worth noting that Jones has shown he can lead this offense for weeks at a time. If Purdy is skittish and his leadership skills disappear over the next few months, everybody at 49ers HQ will remember what Jones did and they should.

But what about any part of Purdy’s career would lead you to believe he’s ready for a fall right now? I’d suggest it’s the opposite: It’s his time.