Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
For years, the San Francisco 49ers have had a reputation for being frugal when it came to free agent spending. In fact, following the team during free agency in the past could be described as downright boring. It wasn't that the 49ers weren't going after top-tier players in free agency, they weren't going after anyone. Instead, like vultures, they would let the first few days of free agency craziness die down and then go after whatever was left over. The result ended up being $105 million in cap space (per the NFLPA) leading into the start of the new 2017 NFL league year on Thursday but very little actual talent on the roster.
Things have officially changed under general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers were very active leading into free agency and once the Thursday start date passed. While some may feel that the team overpaid for some free agent acquisitions, they have made a statement to the NFL that the 49ers are, once again, an organization that is willing to spend money in free agency.
Of course, we haven't seen the details of each of the contracts yet, so we don't know how much of the reported money is guaranteed. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Paraag Marathe is in charge of the cap and has done a good job of managing it for years. There is no doubt that the contracts given over the past two days are team-friendly and would not cripple the 49ers down the road.
Gregg Rosenthal of "Around the NFL" and
NFL Media jumped on KNBR Friday morning to talk about the 49ers' different attitude this year when it comes to free agency. "I'll say that John Lynch has not been afraid to spend money," Rosenthal said. "I mean, a lot of these guys are not 'top of the market' guys but a guy like Malcolm Smith, for instance, got 'top of the market' money.
Kyle Juszczyk might get paid more than any tailback gets paid. I mean, he's making almost double what any other fullback (is making).
"I think agents were happy to see the 49ers and John Lynch be so aggressive for some guys that were really kind of mid-tier free agents but treated like they were really first day free agents."
Rosenthal was asked about the signing of Pierre Garçon. "He's known as a leader, a great guy, a worker," he said. "He knows Kyle Shanahan's system. When you're just starting out with a team, I think that's so important. Again, I think they paid a premium to get him – you know, a 30-year-old receiver – but speed's never been his game. Toughness, smarts, hands – that's all his game.
"At this point, you're seeing guys like Kenny Britt – other kind of borderline number two receivers – get $8-9 million. Garçon gets a couple more, gets more money upfront. The 49ers have so much cap space, they almost need to spend it. I look at it as a two-year deal. He's not a number one receiver at this point in his career. He only topped 800 yards in two of the last four years but he's a solid number two receiver and you've got to start somewhere and he's definitely an NFL starter."
You can
listen to the entire interview on
KNBR.
Former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was hired by the New York Jets on Thursday to be the team's new head coach. General manager John Lynch immediately texted Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
"Robert's earned this opportunity," Lynch told Breer. "He's smart, a tremendously gifted leader, and ready for this challenge. We'll miss him dearly, but he's left us better, and we'll be proud of all that he'll accomplish. The Jets are very fortunate."
On Saturday morning, the 49ers released official statements from Shanahan and Lynch.
"There is not much I haven't already said about Robert's abilities as a coach and as a leader," said Shanahan via
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his first mock draft and has quarterbacks going back-to-back with the first two overall picks, sending Trevor Lawrence to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Zach Wilson to the New York Jets.
Jeremiah has two other quarterbacks coming off the board before the San Francisco 49ers select at No. 12. They are Trey Lance to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 4 and Justin Fields to the Carolina Panthers at No. 8.
So, where does that leave the 49ers? Selecting a tight end, of course. No controversy there, right?
With all of the team's roster needs and nearly 40 players scheduled to become free agents, tight end isn't
The San Francisco 49ers have officially promoted run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
49ers officially promoted their run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator, per source. He replaces Mike LaFleur, who left to become the Jets' offensive coordinator.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 18, 2021
The move comes after head