San Francisco 49ers General Manager John Lynch has a lot of work cut out for him to get the franchise ready for the 2021 season.
Especially with the salary cap decreasing by 11.2 percent. As of now change is the recurring theme for the 49ers. There are 40 free agents that Lynch will make his decision on.
29 of the 41 are unrestricted, five of the 40 are restricted and seven of the 40 are exclusive rights.
Here’s the list of unrestricted:
- Trent Williams, OT
- Richard Sherman ,CB
- Kyle Juszczyk, FB
- Solomon Thomas, DT
- Jaquiski Tartt, S
- Tevin Coleman, RB
- Kendrick Bourne, WR
- K’Waun Williams, CB
- Tom Compton, C
- Ronald Blair, DE
- Ben Garland, C
- Kerry Hyder Jr., DE
- Ezekiel Ansah, DE
- Jerick McKinnon, RB
- Jordan Reed, TE
- Tony Bergstrom, C
- Jason Verrett, CB
- Ahkello Witherspoon, CB
- Dontae Johnson, CB
- Hroniss Grasu, C
- Jamar Taylor, CB
- Dion Jordan, DE
- Jordan Willis, DE
- C.J. Beathard, QB
- Joe Walker, LB
- Trent Taylor, WR
- D.J. Jones, DT
Restricted free agents are:
- Nick Mullens, QB
- Ross Dwelley, TE
- Taybor Pepper, LS
- Jeff Wilson Jr, RB
- Marcell Harris
Exclusive rights free agents are:
- Josh Rosen, QB
- Emmanuel Moseley, CB
- Daniel Brunskill, OT
- Ken Webster, CB
- River Cracraft, WR
- JaMychal Hasty, RB
- Austin Walter, RB
- Kevin Givens, DT
The 49ers also have a club option on kicker Robbie Gould. Which is likely not going to get exercised.
Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh is also considered a candidate for several vacant head coaching positions.
Currently San Francisco is $21.66 million under the salary cap. So for Lynch the first decision he will need to make is deciding on what to do with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. If he gets cut San Francisco will save $23.6 million. Still the better option as of now is to restructure the contract.
Dee Ford is another name that comes up. If he gets released after June 1 the 49ers save $16 million. If he’s let go before that date then it’s a $6.43 million in savings.
Center Weston Richburg who will not play in 2020 is likely to get released. That will save Lynch and the 49ers $2.96 million.
Lynch will also need to figure out how to restructure the contract of defensive end Arik Armstead and trade right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
So if Garoppolo and Armstead contracts get restructured, McGlinchey is traded, Ford and Richburg get released and Gould’s option is not picked up. San Francisco is under the cap by about $51 million.
It’s difficult to say who gets brought back. The most likely ones are T. Williams, K. Williams, Rosen, Juszczyk, Wilson Jr., Tartt, Jones, Verrett and Givens.
With most of the 49ers secondary likely gone their first need to get addressed in the 2021 NFL Draft is at cornerback. Also making it the best option to trade down and to acquire more picks.
There’s another option for Lynch and that is to trade Garoppolo. It means that Rosen gets re-signed and becomes the starter for the 2021 season. Which also increases the likelihood of Mullens getting brought back.
Whatever happens Lynch has his work cut out for him.