San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan focused on bringing back as much of last season's Super Bowl roster as possible, and for the most part, were able to do so. They re-signed key contributors like defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Ronald Blair, and safety Jimmie Ward during the process.
The 49ers weren't able to bring everyone back, though.
San Francisco traded Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts when it became clear it wouldn't be able to meet his future price tag. The team also watched as wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, a player it surrendered two draft picks for, left for the New Orleans Saints via free agency.
"You make that decision to trade for Emmanuel, which I would do over a thousand times because I don't think we would've [reached the Super Bowl] without it," Shanahan said on Saturday. "Then you get to the offseason, and we're like, 'Alright, we have a good team,' and you start to look in on how to re-sign some guys and things like that.
"You don't want to let anybody on our own team leave. Then, we were trying to get Buck done with a long-term deal, and trying to figure that out with Armstead, Jimmie Ward."
The losses created glaring draft needs for San Francisco, which the team immediately addressed with its two first-round picks.
Lynch and Shanahan found a Buckner replacement at No. 14 overall in South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, hopefully keeping the strength of the defense, the defensive line, intact.
"I think they might've been the best defensive line in football last year," Kinlaw said on Thursday. "I'm not just saying that. The way they play, they play the right way. I feel like they play the way the game is supposed to be played."
Kinlaw isn't at all intimidated about replacing the Pro Bowl leader of the unit, and can't wait to get to work.
"I was watching DeForest since he was coming out of college," Kinlaw added. "I know he started off as a raw player, and he developed into a monster. I feel like once I can get that type of coaching, I can probably be somebody like him."
Kinlaw arrives with a much friendlier salary-cap figure, too. The 49ers will lock him up to a $15.5 million contract for the next four years with an option for a fifth year. Buckner will cost the Colts an average of $21 million per year on his new five-year deal.
Sanders will earn an average of $12 million over the next couple of years with the Saints. Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers' second first-round pick, however, will earn about that much over the length of his four-year rookie deal. Like Kinlaw, San Francisco will have a fifth-year option with its rookie receiver, too.
"I saw a lot of people compare me to [Sanders]," Aiyuk said on Thursday. "But just for him, it's just all aspects of the game. I just feel like he could do the same things I can do, which is catch the ball at all three levels or even just go behind the line of scrimmage with a screen pass and just break touches and make things happen."
Then you have tackle Joe Staley's retirement, which caused all kinds of emotions among the fan base, and created a massive need for a left-anchor replacement along the offensive line. Lynch and Shanahan were diligent in filling that need, trading for veteran tackle Trent Williams while surrendering a fifth-round pick this year and a third-rounder next year to Washington.
So San Francisco moves from one Pro Bowl tackle to another in the transition from Staley to Williams.
"Skillset wise, Trent is similar to Joe," Shanahan said on Saturday. "I mean, they're two of the most athletic guys that I have ever been around at that position and they can run, and are great for our scheme."
Staley was scheduled to have a salary-cap hit of $11.5 million, according to OverTheCap.com. Williams' cap figure on the last year of his current deal is $1 million more than that, and the 49ers reportedly hope to get that number down a bit.
Trent Williams and the 49ers are expected to restructure the last year on his contract, per source. But Williams will report and will play for SF this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 25, 2020
"I think the plan was to land him right now and then let the rest kind of work itself out," Shanahan responded when asked about Williams' contract. "I think it's always an advantage when you get someone in the building, on your roster. Now, you've got a chance, and we'll get a really good look at him.
"We'll see where the rest of our team is at, but right now, we're just ecstatic that we were able to pull it off and at a really opportune time."
Shanahan revealed that the 49ers' backup plan, had they been unable to land Williams, was to draft West Virginia tackle Colton McKivitz and have him compete with players like Daniel Brunskill and Justin Skule for the job. San Francisco did get Williams, and it got McKivitz in the fifth round, too.
Also out are running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, both of whom were traded to other teams. A deep group of running backs made Breida expendable. He was sent to the Miami Dolphins.
San Francisco was already considering shopping Goodwin in February. Then Lynch made it clear last week, during an interview on KNBR, that the veteran receiver became more expendable when the team signed free agent Travis Benjamin last month to a one-year deal.
Goodwin contributed just 12 receptions for 186 yards and a touchdown last year. He will look to find more success with his new team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 49ers also added Jauan Jennings, who brings good size and physicality to the receiver group, in the seventh round of the draft.
"I'm just excited to get there and be a part of the great team that they already have," an ecstatic Jennings said on Saturday. "For me to come in, it's a blessing, and I'm extremely grateful and cannot wait to go work my butt off for them. They gave me a chance, and I'm going to do my best not to disappoint."
