Essendon coach Brad Scott made no secret that the club will look to offload up to "eight or nine" players in the upcoming off-season.
The Bombers' wretched 2025 season came to a close with a 95-point loss to Gold Coast on Wednesday, ultimately putting to bed a year that was marred by inconceivable injuries.
"No doubt we limped to the line," Scott said.
"The really important thing for our group was we continued to fight through difficult circumstances. The players themselves never accepted the excuses.
"We certainly didn't start out the year to debut 15 players, and we certainly won't be doing that next year because it's just not possible."
But due to the "unprecedented" number of injured players, Essendon welcomed six players through the SSP and MSD.
And that could spell mass changes, especially given the club has Picks 4, 5, 22 and 25 in the upcoming draft.
Veteran Dylan Shiel's time at Tullamarine is set to end, while free agent Sam Draper is mulling over a move to Adelaide or Brisbane, despite an increased offer from the Bombers to retain him.
"We aren't going to be in a position to announce too many changes in the short term," Scott said.
"We're going to have to go through a whole lot of scenarios over the next couple of months.
"We've had to be creative… when your team is not on autopilot, that's when you've got to do your best work.
"That'll hold us in good stead, but that won't do it for us.
"We've got to look to improve our list and not just rely on injured players coming back."
Matt Guelfi suffered a corked calf, and Todd Goldstein sustained a concussion—both became the last players of the season to experience injuries.
