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5 Players the San Francisco 49ers Should Cut in 2017

By Peter Panacy

Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks (55) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks (55) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco 49ers are a bad team going nowhere fast. With numerous holes on the roster, it actually makes sense to part ways with a number of players under contract to open up the door for improvements down the road.

Sep 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) looks into the backfield of the Dallas Cowboys during the game at AT&T Stadium. San Francisco beat Dallas 28-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) looks into the backfield of the Dallas Cowboys during the game at AT&T Stadium. San Francisco beat Dallas 28-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

Addition by subtraction should be a valuable strategy for the San Francisco 49ers this upcoming offseason.

And not just for the financial reasons either.

At 1-9, the 2016 Niners are in need of a complete overhaul from top to bottom. While the majority of the team is young, a number of aging veterans and underperforming players are holding up spots that could otherwise be occupied by more-promising options.

With said record, and most of the San Francisco stat lines around the bottom of the league, no one’s job on the 53-man roster should be safe.

Cap concerns shouldn’t be a worry either. According to Over the Cap, the Niners will have $47,514,014 in cap space this season. And this number doesn’t include the carryover amount of unused space the Niners have this year.

So dead money shouldn’t be a factor. In some cases, releasing a player should actually generate substantially more savings.

Let’s take a look at five players the 49ers would be wise to release this upcoming offseason.