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June 1st has finally arrived. It may be an ordinary day, but in the football world, it is a very important day, because post-June 1st NFL roster additions and cuts can be made with favorable cap implications.
Teams can now spread the "dead money" charge incurred from cutting a player over the course of two years, rather than one year, helping franchises with a lesser amounts of cap space.
Last Tuesday, during his press conference, Kyle Shanahan confirmed the long-held belief that center Weston Richburg was retiring due to injuries instead of returning to the 49ers in 2021.
Richburg was drafted in the second round by the New York Giants in the 2014 NFL Draft. In 2018, Richburg signed with the 49ers on a five-year, $47.5 million deal.
The center missed all of 2020 due to hip and knee injuries, and has had three surgeries, on his shoulder, knee, and hip, which likely attributed to his early retirement.
The Athletic's Dave Lombardi pointed out that Richburg's retirement post-June 1st will save the 49ers $1.075 million in cap space for the 2021 season, while also saving $3.5 million in dead cap space.
In addition, the move will free up necessary cap space in 2022, as $9.15 million will come off the books with Richburg's retirement.
While an official statement hasn't come out regarding Richburg's retirement, due to the salary-cap implications, Shanahan's statement practically confirms that the move will happen, which will leave the 49ers with extra cap room for a potential Fred Warner extension.
In a corresponding move, the 49ers signed linebacker
James Burgess, who will officially sign a contract sometime this week, once the Weston Richburg retirement becomes official.
However, there is not a clear spot for him yet on the 53-man roster, as the linebacker corps is one of the deeper position groups for the 49ers with Fred Warner,
Dre Greenlaw,
Azeez Al-Shaair, Demetrius Flanagan-Fowles, undrafted rookie Justin Hilliard, and newly signed veteran Nathan Gerry.
Still, Burgess has experience, playing with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Green Bay Packers from 2017-2020.
Expect an official statement regarding the two moves any time after the 1pm PT deadline today.
How well do the 2021 49ers stack up to the 2019 team?
Lately I have listened to some podcasts and read some tweets comparing the current San Francisco 49ers team (2021) to the 2019 team that fell just short of winning the Super Bowl. I find the comparison interesting. And since many people quickly assume the 2021 49ers are not as good as the 2019 team, I wanted to take a look for myself. So as we prepare for the team to report on Tuesday, let's compare the two teams, position by position. For the purpose of this very scientific experiment, we will assume everyone is healthy (even though that never happens). Let's start on offense. The defensive comparison is coming soon.
Offense
Quarterback:
How well do the 2021 49ers stack up to the 2019 team?
Yesterday, we took a look at the 2021 San Francisco 49ers offense to see how it compares to the team's offense from 2019. Some have said this year's team will be better than the 2019 team, while others have suggested that won't be the case. In our very scientific investigation, we determined the 2021 offense will be better than the 2019 offense. Today, we will take a look at the defenses.
Interior Defensive Line
Leading up to the 2020 draft, the 49ers traded away DeForest Buckner. They selected
Soon after news of the deal broke, Pro Football Talk released the details of linebacker Fred Warner's massive contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers. The five-year deal has a potential value of $95.225 million, including $40.5 million guaranteed. That would earn the All-Pro linebacker about $19 million a year.
Interestingly, the contract's final two years are voidable, so the 49ers can choose to pick up those years if they find themselves in a healthy salary-cap situation. If they don't, then they have some options.
Looking only at the extension itself and not 2021, which is the final year of his rookie deal, here is a year-by-year breakdown,
The 21-year-old Trey Lance continues to earn praise from his teammates. The San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback is preparing to enter his first NFL training camp and hopes to show off how his hard work in the past month has led to improvement. During the players' time off, several videos surfaced of Lance taking part in throwing sessions, taking what he learned from the offseason program to sharpen his skills.
One of the players Lance threw to last month is teammate Mohamed Sanu. The two also worked out together in Southern California. The wide receiver hopes to make his
