The sting of the Super Bowl LIV loss is still fresh in the minds of San Francisco 49ers players, coaches, executives, and staff. It's still fresh with the fans, too. It's not how the team had hoped to enter the offseason, but here it is, and, soon enough, there will be decisions to make.
"We'll lick our wounds. We'll get over this," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Sunday night. "We'll be fired up for next year. We've got a lot of people coming back. I think we surprised a lot of people this year.
"We knew we had a good team, and I'm very proud of the guys and how much better they got throughout this year. And I expect to get almost all these guys back. Plan on adding a few more."
The 49ers, like every NFL team, hope to improve this offseason, maybe enough to accomplish what they failed to do this past postseason. Shanahan hopes to get a lot of his players back, too. That might not be possible for everyone, though.
The 49ers have some difficult decisions to make. They would like to offer a contract extension to All-Pro tight end George Kittle. That could reportedly approach a salary of $13 million per season. They would like to lock up players like defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, too. But to do so, and add others, the 49ers might have to let others walk.
The 49ers have the option to retain fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and will likely do so. There are several restricted free agents, like running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, and exclusive rights free agents. Those players shouldn't be too difficult to retain, should San Francisco opt to do so.
When it comes to unrestricted free agents, the 49ers have many. You probably know the names like Arik Armstead, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jimmie Ward, but what about the rest?
Below is a list of the 49ers players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year in March, courtesy of Spotrac.com. It is ranked by that player's average annual salary in his just-completed contract.
- Emmanuel Sanders, WR, $11 million
- Jimmie Ward, S, $4.5 million
- Jason Verrett, CB, $3.6 million
- Garrett Celek, TE, $2.55 million - Note: Player is contemplating retirement, per reports
- Arik Armstead, DE $2.46 million
- Shon Coleman, T, $819,704
- Ben Garland, C, $805,000
- Levine Toilolo, TE, $805,000
- Damontre Moore, DE, $805,000
- Jordan Matthews, WR, $805,000
- Dontae Johnson, CB, $805,000
- Sheldon Day, DT, $737,103
- Anthony Zettel, DE, $720,000
- Ronald Blair, DE, $652,601
Which of these players should be a priority? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.