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10 Players the 49ers Should Watch for 2018 NFL Free Agency

By Peter Panacy

November 2, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson (22) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The Rams defeated the 49ers 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 2, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson (22) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The Rams defeated the 49ers 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 23, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up before the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up before the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

The San Francisco 49ers were active in NFL free agency this year, and we should expect them to do so again a year from now. So let’s take a brief look at 10 free agents in 2018 the Niners should pay attention to.

In case you missed it, the San Francisco 49ers were heavily involved in free agency to kick off the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan regime.

These were much-needed changes, especially for a team devoid of talent on both sides of the ball.

Even after those moves, the Niners are still armed with $81,095,835 in salary cap space, as of March 20, according to Over the Cap.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Some of this money, of course, will go to rookies picked up in the NFL Draft and afterwards. And more will go to extensions, other free agents, etc. But it’s pretty safe to say San Francisco will be in good shape, cap-wise, when 2018 rolls around.

We don’t know just how good the 49ers will be this season. It’s a safe bet they’ll improve on last year’s 2-14 mark. But for Lynch, the continuous addition of talent will be a necessity in ensuring the Niners return to prominence sooner rather than later.

And that means further testing of the free-agent market.

With the first few waves of 2017 free agency in the books, let’s take the long game and look forward to 2018.

Here are 10 pending free agents the 49ers should watch this season. Of course, some of these players may wind up being extended or franchise tagged between now and 2018 free agency. But let’s not worry about that just yet.

We’ll just focus on the names.