NFL Free Agency: 2016 Primer for San Francisco 49ers

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Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers Anquan Boldin poses with the Walter Payton Man of the Year award at the NFL Honors press room at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Assessing the 49ers’ Free Agent Class

The 49ers have their own crop of players that are looking to sign deals this offseason. Some contracts will be for the short-term and some for the long-term. Regardless, they’ll all be looking to earn the maximum amount they can in the free agent market.

OverTheCap has an excellent list of the players and their salaries. Some of those free agents will be negotiated at low salaries and will largely remain as depth players. There are, however, a few names that should make fans take notice.

Guard Alex Boone has been with the 49ers since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Boone joined the 49ers after playing at Ohio State University. He came with question marks off the field that the team acknowledged and Boone has remained a positive impact on the team throughout his time.

Unfortunately, he’ll enter free agency looking to be paid as a right tackle and the 49ers simply don’t view him at that position. They’ve expected Boone to make the transition to guard since becoming a starter in 2012 and, while teams will pay for Boone as a tackle, the 49ers aren’t one of those teams. He’ll almost surely sign with another team.

More from Niner Noise

Anquan Boldin may be the most influential player on the 49ers entire roster. To see him leave in free agency would mean a natural locker room leader is no longer on the team. After winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Saturday night, Boldin embodies everything about being a professional.

"It's my hope... I can help as many people as possible."@AnquanBoldin's #WPMOY acceptance speech. #NFLHonors https://t.co/tsyZ8fD8gh
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2016

Sometimes, even when it’s expensive, you ought to pay to have those kind of men on your team. Boldin, at 35 years old, will likely be signing his final contract as an NFL player and he may be interested in playing for a team with a chance at winning a championship. The 49ers are not that team. Not in 2016, at least.

Boldin has had an impressive few years as a 49er and the team could surely find a way to use him if he returns. The question is not whether the team would want him back, I’m sure they’d appreciate his leadership. The issue, however, lies with the amount that Boldin would sign for to return. On a team with plenty of needs, re-signing an older receiver at a high price might discourage the front office from digging too deep into talks with Boldin’s agent.

The team drafted DeAndre Smelter last year with the future in mind. That future may have included an Anquan Boldin-less team.Despite Boldin’s proven success throughout his career, the team might believe they have a replacement in waiting.

The oldest free agent of interest in kicker Phil Dawson. The 49ers have routinely relied on their kickers for the last decade. Between Joe Nedney, David Akers and now Phil Dawson, the 49ers regularly have kickers leading the league in field goals attempted. The front office seems to place a premium on veteran kickers that are consistent and dependable.

Dawson has seen his role begin to decline, with the team assigning kickoff duties to recently-drafted punter Bradley Pinion. Dawson has a high rate of success, but it’s difficult to justify spending the money to keep him in San Francisco.

Dawson recently turned 41 years old and counted over $4 million against the cap last season. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the team would pay an older kicker that amount of money again. Dawson, however reliable, may find himself kicking for another team in 2016 simply based on his age and contract.

Nose tackle Ian Williams will be a free agent and the man deserves a major pay raise. He’ll get it. Hopefully from San Francisco and not another team, but it’s coming either way. We’ve discussed Williams’ importance to the team more than once. The general consensus is that the team needs to make re-signing Williams a priority this offseason.

Reggie Bush, who was brought in to be the second-string running back, was largely a disappointment before slipping on concrete in St. Louis and seeing his season end.

The players that joined the team post-Bush injury were much more reliable and proved more than capable of shouldering the load in Hyde’s absence. Bush is as good as gone.

Baalke and his team have begun evaluating all of the players on the roster. In addition to the player personnel department, new head coach Chip Kelly will also have his own opinions about current players. Baalke has the money and can make re-signing his guys a priority, but he’ll have to decide at what value and price he brings players back.

Baalke’s typical method is to set a value for each player and give them an opportunity to accept or test the market for more money. When players decline, the team moves on unapologetically. The strategy is prudent and beneficial in building teams of depth. This offseason may force Baalke to readdress his strategy if he expects to re-sign his own highly-regarded players.

Next: Free Agents Around the League