Brandon Aiyuk would still be a year away from a franchise tag, and that would be without an extension worked out.
As of 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, teams could start placing the franchise tag on players. The deadline to apply the tag runs through March 5 at 1 p.m. PT.
The San Francisco 49ers don’t have any players who fit the bill to apply the tag to. We’re a year away from that discussion with Brandon Aiyuk — and that’d be if he’s not traded or an extension isn’t worked out before next offseason.
There’s another receiver on the team who made himself some money during the postseason. If the outcome were any different, Jauan Jennings would likely have been named the Super Bowl MVP. He caught four passes for 42 yards, threw and caught a touchdown, and had several first down receptions throughout the playoffs.
Alas, he enters the offseason as a restricted free agent.
Jennings will earn a raise from the $940,000 contract he played on this past season. As a restricted free agent, the 49ers have three options regarding Jennings. They can place a first, second, or Right of First Refusal tender on Jennings.
Over The Cap projects a first-round tender to cost roughly $6.46 million. What that means is Jennings would need to sign a contract with another team, the 49ers decline to match the deal, and they’d receive a first-round pick in return.
Despite Jennings’ postseason heroics, it’s a deep wide receiver class, and a team is unlikely to give up a first-round pick for him. So it’s unlikely that the Niners place a first-round tag on their former seventh-round pick.
A second-rounder is more plausible but still unlikely. That would cost $4.63 million and involve the same scenario as above, just with a second-round pick instead.
The Right of First Refusal option makes the most sense. That’s when the restricted free agent signs an offer sheet with a new club, and their old team can match the offer and retain him because the qualifying offer entitles it to a “right of first refusal” on any offer sheet the player signs. It’ll help paint the picture of how the rest of the league values Jennings.
That tag would cost $2.82 million per Over the Cap. Based on what Jennings has meant to the team, the 49ers could just work out a multi-year extension with him after multiple years of playing on the ERFA tag. The deal would presumably save the team cap space in the immediate future.
If Jennings does play on one of the tags we went through above, he’d have until April 19 to sign the offer sheet with a new team. But that’s as close as the 49ers will get to a “tag” this offseason.
If Chase Young finished the season with double-digit sacks in the second half, maybe. But he’s likely on the way out, and the 49ers will recoup a compensatory pick for him. More on that later.
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