It feels pretty good to be wanted. General manager John Lynch wants free agents to want the San Francisco 49ers. He wants the 49ers to be a destination for the league's top talent in search of a new team.
"We want to become a destination where everyone wants to be," Lynch told reporters on February 9.
Impending free agents took notice of how the 49ers finished the 2017 season. After starting off 1-10, the team reeled off five-straight victories to close out the season with Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting quarterback.
This offseason, the 49ers are expected to be a trendy pick to be a vastly improved team. Players around the NFL want to be part of what Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are building. They want to be teammates with Garoppolo. They want to play for Shanahan. The 49ers are officially a "destination."
There have already been numerous reports of players expressing a desire to join the 49ers. According to former NFL wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, impending free agents want to find a way to get to San Francisco. Garoppolo has even fielded texts from players around the league who are intrigued by the possibility of pairing up with him on the football field. A former team beat writer has even received similar texts.
Add fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who spoke with Joe Fann of 49ers Media during the latest "49ers Studios Podcast," to the list of individuals who have been hearing about the 49ers as a desired destination. He had an opportunity to speak with players at the Pro Bowl and via text messages.
"I talked to multiple guys who said they were talking to their agents because they want to be here," Juszczyk said. "I talked to guys at the Pro Bowl. I've talked to former teammates. This is a place where people want to be."
NFL.com recently listed the 49ers as the top free agent destination among teams that did not make the playoffs this past season. San Francisco currently has the third-most cap space according to OverTheCap.com.
"Almost every guy immediately brought up how hot we ended the season, how impressed everyone was by the team and by Jimmy," Juszczyk said. "You can tell that people around the league are noticing."
Free agency kicks off on March 14 with teams able to contact player agents and enter contract negotiations on March 12.
