As the San Francisco 49ers fell to 3-5 this season and 0-4 at home, fans have indicated a desire to see the rebuild.
The only problem with that kind of thinking is that there is no good way for general manager John Lynch to do it. One of the reasons for that is prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, the 49ers traded away their first round picks in 2022 and 2023 to take quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick.
So the first move for Lynch is obviously to release starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which according to Spotrac will save the franchise $25.6 milllion dollars. As for what happens next there are several trade options to consider.
First is to put tight end George Kittle on the market. Still Lynch is not likely to part ways with one of the best position players in the NFL. Linebacker Fred Warner is another name that will attract attention, yet once again he is not likely to go anywhere either.
Dre Greenlaw is an option to acquire a draft pick in 2022. Trey Sermon who San Francisco traded up for in 2021, has not found himself in the running back rotation. He is another trade candidate and likely gets moved for a late round pick.
Quite possibly the best option to acquire multiple picks, though none that are in the first round is to ship head coach Kyle Shanahan elsewhere. Many fans have indicated that if the 49ers were to fire him, there are multiple teams who will want him to take over their franchise.
Seemingly rebuilding does not make much sense for the 49ers and Lynch. Cutting Garoppolo, trading Greenlaw and Sermon are moves that make sense. Moving on from Kittle, Warner and Shanahan not so much.
Instead of rebuilding 49er fans will need to focus on 2022 free agents thanks to the money that got saved from Garoppolo’s contract. For Shanahan and Lynch the upcoming draft will become their most important one.
Cause no matter what the Lance era begins in 2022.