Heading into NFL free agency, the big-name free agents typically garner all of the headlines. But the blue-chip, role players should begin to get attention. Let’s take a look at five blue-chip free agents the San Francisco 49ers should target.
Every year, NFL fans tend to fall in love with the sexy, prized free-agent signings. Team supporters constantly forget that the real reason for team success is not that one coveted signing, but the role players signed in the following weeks.
In reality, the prized signings rarely work out because the team overpays for the free agent. Then, expectations are high on a player to perform and deliver every Sunday.
Not all players turn out this way, but many do.
San Francisco 49ers
On the other hand, there are low-risk, high-reward players. These are the guys that won’t show up on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays, but their impact is felt every Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers will have just shy of $79 million to spend this offseason, according to OverTheCap.com. Most likely, general manager John Lynch and the 49ers’ brass will pursue coveted free agents, but they should also consider these blue-chip ones as well.
Establishing the Criteria
So what separates a blue-chip free agent from a coveted, big-name one?
Let’s establish some ground rules that were used in determining these free-agent bargains for the 49ers:
- The free agent will have an annual salary of less than $7-8 million.
- The player added must be a supplementary piece or additional depth.
With this framework, here are 5 blue-chip free agents the 49ers should pursue in NFL free agency.