Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Monday, February 26, 2024
Long-time sportswriter Peter King announced his retirement.
There are things about this job I’ll never find in another gig, no matter how much fun any future job is. In college, I realized who I was. Nothing made me happier than even the littlest scoop about the Student Senate, or the new provost search, at Ohio University. It’s never left me. Breaking the four-game Lawrence Taylor drug suspension in 1988. Brett Favre spilling the secret to me of going into rehab, and why, in 1996. Sitting in the 49ers draft room in 2017 and hearing rookie GM John Lynch tell negotiator Paraag Marathe, “See if we can get one last thing with Chicago,” and then watching Marathe wrangle an extra third-round pick in trade with the Bears. Getting Andy Reid to tell me everything, on camera in the privacy of his coach’s office, about “Corn Dog,” the winning play in last year’s Super Bowl. And the immediacy of it all—5.5 hours after leaving Reid, Football Morning in America posted and the world felt what I felt sitting across from Reid: You’re kidding! The winning play in the Super Bowl is called Corn Dog?
A 2024 draft pick would get a chance to develop in his first year before becoming the team’s inexpensive backup in 2025 when Purdy’s cost could potentially explode.
With 11 picks in this year’s draft there’ll be plenty of opportunities for the 49ers to maneuver around the board to snag the QB they believe can best fit the role they need him to fill. When in the draft that is will depend on how the board shakes out. Anything outside the first round or two should be on the table.
QB may not atop the 49ers’ list of needs this year, but backup QB is too important of a position to ignore. Adding one via the draft gives San Francisco a real opportunity to continue having a strong depth chart, even when their typically cheap QB room gets expensive.
One trade, cut and signing the San Francisco 49ers should make
CUT: LB Dre Greenlaw
If the idea of shopping Aiyuk is difficult to ponder, this might even downright impossible for 49ers fans. But again, it might be a necessity given the the team’s salary-cap situation. Greenlaw has been a major cog in the 49ers defense since the start of the 2019 season.
But he is likely to miss a significant portion of next season after suffering a torn Achilles in the Super Bowl and may not be 100% effective when he eventually returns. Cutting Greenlaw, while harsh given his importance to the team and his injury, would save the 49ers $6.8 million in salary-cap space this season. That would be big savings for a team that is entering the offseason with only $6 million in salary-cap space.
DT Javon Kinlaw
The career of Javon Kinlaw has been underwhelming and even disappointing. However, that has been mainly because of the injuries has constantly sustained. This past season was the first ever that he got to play a full season. And boy, did he prove to be a key role player on the defensive line. Attaining the first round impact that the 49ers drafted him in likely won’t ever be there for him.
But Kinlaw has proved he can give the 49ers some fine impact with how he commands and even disrupts double teams. Having a player like that is useful for the 49ers. Kinlaw should be able to come back on a cheap deal as well. I’d imagine a one-year $4 million deal with incentives will get it done and one that the 49ers should covet. Given how he looked in his first full season played, I’d lean towards the deal ending up being a bargain with Kinlaw improving.
Sign Danielle Hunter To Replace Chase Young
Upgrading its strength in rushing the passer is a likely priority for San Francisco as well after not having a ton of high-end production at the spot last season outside of Nick Bosa, who finished with 10.5 sacks.
Adding a second bona fide edge rusher could certainly help in that regard, and Hunter has certainly proven capable of playing to that level across his eight-year career. He earned a Pro Bowl nod last season after racking up 84 tackles (54 solo), 23 tackles for loss, a career-high 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two pass breakups, coming in as PFN’s fourth-best available edge rusher in free agency.
Although some regression back to the mean is likely for Hunter, who is not getting any younger at 29 years old, adding his dependable production could be attractive to the 49ers if they look to move on from the up-and-down Young.
About the Author: Insidethe49
