Malcolm Smith’s tenure with the 49ers has been something just south of disappointing. In what appears to be an effort to stay on San Francisco’s roster, Smith has restructured his contract according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
The new deal comes in the third year of a five-year, $26.5 million contract Smith signed in 2017. Terms of the restructure aren’t available, but NBC Sports Bay Area said it will reduce the amount of money he was due this season. Spotrac has Smith with a $3.75 million base salary, and a $5.4 million cap hit.
There was a very good chance Smith would’ve been cut on his current deal. San Francisco would’ve saved over $4 million with minimal dead cap had they made him a post-June 1 release.
The 29-year-old missed the entire 2017 season before playing in only 12 games with five starts in an injury-riddled 2018 campaign. His play in those games was less-than-stellar even before he started working through an Achilles injury.
A new contract opens the door a little wider for Smith to stick around. It was going to be tough to justify keeping a reserve linebacker for more than $5 million, and his chances to crack the starting lineup next to Fred Warner weren’t great. They’ll be even lower if, or when, the 49ers acquire a player for that position in the draft or free agency.
There’s still a chance Smith doesn’t land on the 53-man roster next season. A restructured contract solidifies his chances of making it to training camp, and bumps his shot at the final roster.
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