San Francisco 49ers: 5 Easy Steps to Help Fix the Franchise in 2016
By Peter Panacy
Supplement the Roster with the Right Free-Agent Fits
San Francisco currently boasts $54,194,089 in cap space against the projected $155.27 million salary cap in 2016 — fourth highest among all 32 teams.
This gives general manager Trent Baalke plenty of wiggle room with which to address a sizable portion of the team’s needs.
But with so much cap space, the 49ers need to avoid simply going out there and making big free-agent splashes at every position possible. So it may be best to cross off some high-profile free agents, who are going to command big bucks this offseason.
True, Baalke and the Niners may afford to land a top-tier free agent or two. But there may be players who could do nearly as much, if not more so, at a much lower cost.
Case in point — Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith would be a great addition to the Niners secondary. Yet he made $7 million against the cap last year and could easily get more in 2016. On the flip side, St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins — whose initial struggles at the pro level have waned — could be on the Niners’ radar, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee suggested, at a much lower cost.
Contracts and the salary cap can be tricky things. A team can swiftly go from an abundance of cap room to being dangerously close to passing the threshold. While it may not be an issue in 2016, who knows what subsequent seasons may hold.
If the 49ers front office is good at one thing, it’s contract negotiations. Simply look at how it pulled off the current contract with quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
So maybe the 49ers try to go this route again — finding the right free-agent fits and not necessarily the best players out there.
A favorite example from a few years ago was outside linebacker Dan Skuta. That worked out well. Let’s hope Baalke can emulate that.
Next: Bulk Up the Defense in the Draft