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4 Remaining Priorities For The San Francisco 49ers During NFL Offseason

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The San Francisco 49ers pretty much have their 90-man roster set for off-season programs and the start of training camp after making eight selections in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Obviously, the biggest news of the offseason in Santa Clara was the 49ers’ decision to trade up to the third pick in the draft for quarterback Trey Lance from North Dakota State. He’ll now likely compete with incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo for the QB1 spot during camp.

With that said, there’s still a few things on the 49ers’ plate now that most of the heavy lifting has been done. Could San Francisco opt to bring back a future Hall of Fame cornerback? Perhaps, it looks to add a receiver in free agency after avoiding this position in the draft for the first time in 18 years. There’s also a chance that the 49ers lock up one of their stud young players long-term.

Below, I look at four moves the San Francisco 49ers should still make this offseason.

San Francisco 49ers Re-Sign Richard Sherman

For a while earlier this offseason, it looked like a reunion between Sherman and the 49ers was not in the cards after three seasons together. At 33 years old and coming off an injury-plagued 2020 campaign that saw him miss all but five games, there just has not been a strong market for Sherman’s services. It’s led to recent indications that he could be back in Northern California this coming season.

Chris Biderman of The Fresno Bee notes that Sherman and the 49ers are engaged in preliminary conversations about a return. Sherman himself has said he’d be “ecstatic” to remain a member of the organization.

However, there are some obvious complications here. Primarily, San Francisco finds itself just $18 million under the cap with its entire eight-person draft class to sign. It also selected cornerbacks Ambry Thomas (third round) and Deommodore Lenoir (fifth round) in the draft. After re-signing K’Waun Williams, Emmanuel Moseley and Jason Verrett in free agency, is there room for Sherman?

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I say yes. While the cornerback is seemingly on his last legs, Sherman is still one season removed from earning a Pro Bowl appearance with San Francisco. He could start opposite Verrett over the short-term while acting as a veteran presence for Thomas and Lenoir. If the money works, this should be a priority.

San Francisco 49ers Sign Fred Warner To Contract Extension

This one might have to wait until next offseason when the NFL salary cap expands. As noted above, the 49ers have a mere $18 million in cap room. Short of trading Jimmy Garoppolo (unlikely) or restructuring other contracts, Warner’s situation will have to likely be kicked down the road.

Even then, the 24-year-old Warner has to be a short-term priority. He’s the single-best inside linebacker in the NFL and has been absolutely dominant since the 49ers stole him in the third round of the 2018 draft. Last season alone, the BYU product recorded 125 tackles, seven quarterback hits, six passes defended, five tackles for loss, and two interceptions en route to grading out as the best inside linebacker according to Pro Football Focus metrics.

This will ultimately lead to a huge payday for Warner, who is slated to become a free agent following the 2021 season. An inability to lock Warner up this offseason or in-season will likely force San Francisco to place the franchise tag on him. That would come out to an estimated $19 million, handcuffing the 49ers in a big way next offseason.

The alternative is making Warner the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL within the next several weeks. Said deal would outpace the $18 million Bobby Wagner is earning in his deal with the Seattle Seahawks, but come with a lower 2022 cap hit than franchising him. Perhaps, signing Jimmie Ward and Laken Tomlinson to extensions while restructuring the contract of Arik Armstead could create enough room to lock Warner up long-term.

San Francisco 49ers Add Wide Receiver In Free Agency Or Trade

The addition of Austin Watkins Jr. as an undrafted free agent shouldn’t change the 49ers’ plans any time soon. Sure he was considered a mid-round pick leading up the draft and fills a need in the slot. But relying on him to make an immediate impact is foolish.

Right now, San Francisco has Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk slated to start on the outside. Veteran free-agent signing Mohamed Sanu will compete with Richie James and the oft-injured Jalen Hurd for slot duties. Of that group, only James has had some recent success. In fact, Hurd missed each of his first two seasons to injury after being a third-round selection back in 2019.


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With their limited resources, the 49ers should do what they can to add a capable slot guy to the mix. Golden Tate and Danny Amendola are two free agents they have an eye on. Former Chicago Bears second-round pick Anthony Miller is firmly on the trade block. Perhaps, sending a mid-round pick to the Windy City for the still-young slot guy could make sense.

However unlikely it might be, San Francisco could also kick the tires on adding Julio Jones to the mix. The Atlanta Falcons are said to be open to trading the seven-time Pro Bowler. He worked with Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta and would be an absolutely amazing fit. The complications here include draft pick compensation heading back to the Falcons in a hypothetical trade and Jones’ bloated contract. Any move of this ilk would also require the 49ers to trade or release Garoppolo.

San Francisco 49ers Attempt To Add 2022 NFL Draft Capital

To say that the 49ers gave up the farm to trade up for Trey Lance would be an understatement. That includes first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 as well as next year’s third rounder. With its draft war chest limited moving forward, it might make sense for San Francisco to move off a player or two at deep positions during training camp.

The 49ers decision to draft Trey Sermon (third round) and Elijah Mitchell (sixth round) creates a logjam in the backfield. Perhaps, some team calls up about impressive youngster Jeff Wilson should those two show out during training camp.

After adding Maurice Hurst and Zach Kerr to the mix during NFL free agency, the defensive tackle position is also stacked in San Francisco. It’s in this that the likes of Kevin Givens and D.J. Jones might end up being trade bait.

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With that said, Jimmy Garoppolo might be the biggest chip San Francisco has in order to acquire future draft capital. Let’s say another starting quarterback does down to injury during the offseason or camp. If that were to happen, Garoppolo’s trade market would increase. In turn, the keys to the kingdom would be handed over to Lance as a rookie. Stranger things have happened.

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