The San Francisco 49ers have a host of difficult calls to make this offseason as they attempt to bounce back from their disappointing 2024 season. San Francisco is in the process of remodeling its coaching staff, while the Niners will in a couple of months have to navigate the challenges of free agency amid a backdrop of contract negotiations with Brock Purdy that may come to define the next few years.
With around $46.5 million in salary cap space, the 49ers are in a better spot to keep their roster intact following a new contract for Purdy than many believe.
However, there is still the prospect of cap casualties to give themselves more wiggle room. General manager John Lynch has already confirmed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave will be released with a post-June 1 designation and, last Thursday, Over The Cap, named six 49ers on a league-wide list of 100 potential cuts.
OTC uses two of its own metrics to put together the list. It looks at its valuation diamond and factors in players who are within the top 100 worst in terms of being paid more than a median starter at their position but being compensated at a higher rate. On top of that, the list also takes into account players who are deemed to have a negative contract fate of over 50 percent. In other words, players with contracts that are viewed as more likely to have a negative outcome (terminated, pay cut) than a positive one (pay raise, extension).
Finally, players on the list must be due at least $3.75 million in cash in 2025.
There were some big names on the list for the 49ers, including wide receiver Deebo Samuel, full back Kyle Juszczyk and Jauan Jennings on the offensive side of the ball.
Juszczyk's name regularly comes up in such conversations, and he restructured his deal last offseason. However, it is still difficult to see the 49ers parting with the most versatile fullback in the game, and general manager John Lynch has already indicated they have no intention of moving on from Samuel despite a poor 2024 season for the wideout.
Jennings was signed to an extension last offseason but is a free agent next offseason. The 49ers are unlikely to release him after his breakout year, yet he could be tough to keep in 2026 if he continues on his upward trajectory.
The more compelling candidates are on the defensive side of the ball, and all joined the team just last year: Maliek Collins, Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos.
Collins is probably the least likely of the trio. The 49ers desperately need to improve on the interior of the defensive line but, with Hargrave set to be released, Collins is the best rusher the Niners have at defensive tackle.
He enjoyed a decent first season, matching his career high with five sacks and, per Pro Football Focus, finished tied 15th among interior defensive lineman with 45 total pressures. The 49ers would gain $3.4 million by releasing him with a June 1 designation, but that might not be enough to make it worth their while.
Floyd could be a more difficult decision, but his production will be probably keep him around.
He racked up 8.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss in 2024. It marked his lowest sack total since 2019 but still trailed only Nick Bosa (nine) on the team.
More of a finisher than a pressure machine who consistently wins his rushes, there is a strong case to be made that the 49ers could serve to upgrade on the 32-year-old, especially since San Francisco would gain $8.45 million by making him a post-June 1 cut.
San Francisco should definitely be looking to improve at edge rusher and it would be no surprise if they used the 11th overall pick in the draft on a player at the position. But Floyd would be an excellent mentor for a young pass rusher and, more than anything else, what the Niners need on the edge is more strength in depth, not less. Floyd should stick around for that reason.
The member of the defensive trio perhaps in the most jeopardy is Gross-Matos. The 49ers signed him hoping to make the most of his inside-out versatility. However, a knee injury hindered his first year with the team after he signed a two-year, $18 million deal.
Only eight players on the OTC list have a valuation above median starter worse than Gross-Matos, whose release as a post-June 1 designation would add $7.82 million to the 49ers' cap.
Still, at the age of 26, Gross-Matos has room to grow and flashed signs of promise in a season he finished with four sacks, albeit with three of them coming in one game against the Chicago Bears.
With his athletic gifts, Gross-Matos ticks a lot of the boxes the 49ers look for in an edge rusher and offers crucial versatility. Still, he projects as one of the more difficult decisions for the Niners after a season in which he was not fully healthy.
It's a tough call for San Francisco as to whether he receives a mulligan.
