Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently joined The Rich Eisen Show to reassure San Francisco 49ers fans who may be panicking over the team's concerning offseason and the perception that the roster has significantly weakened after a six-win 2024 season.
On Monday, Breer once again urged Bay Area fans not to panic despite a massive roster overhaul that has seen the departure of several key contributors without any significant additions to offset the losses.
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Breer acknowledges that this offseason hasn't been ideal, with 49ers stars like Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw, and Charvarius Ward among several key departures. However, he notes that this day was inevitable. The 49ers have spent heavily over the past few years, trying to capitalize on their Super Bowl window—only to come up short.
"Going into the offseason, without a full roster, or a single free-agent addition or draft pick, the Niners were at around $300 million in cap commitments," Breer wrote in a feature for Sports Illustrated. "And after an injury-riddled 6–11 season, they had a choice. They could kick the can down the road again and make another hard run at a championship. Or they could rip the Band-Aid off and reset, with a quarterback's contract in the offing and an aging roster around him."
That quarterback is Brock Purdy, the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Purdy has been one of the NFL's best bargains over the past three seasons, giving the 49ers salary-cap flexibility to surround him with talent. But now it's Purdy's turn to get paid—which means ripping off the Band-Aid.
Still, Breer doesn't believe this signals the downfall of a successful franchise that has reached two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl with Purdy at the helm. He points to the 2023 Los Angeles Rams and the 2024 Buffalo Bills as examples of teams that successfully navigated similar overhauls.
"Both carried around $75 million in dead cap charges—money on the cap accounting for players no longer on the team—into those seasons," Breer explained. "The Rams went 10–7 the year they took their cap medicine and lost by a point on the road to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs. Likewise, Buffalo went 13–4, then made it to the AFC title game."
Of course, for the 49ers to follow that blueprint, they'll need strong quarterback play and success in the draft—just like the Rams and Bills before them.
"That, then, puts the pressure on Brock Purdy to elevate the players around him, and coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch to continue drafting and developing the way they have over the past eight years," Breer wrote before adding, "I'd be optimistic, if not certain, those three will answer the bell."