Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: 5 free agents worth targeting in 2018

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 20: Chris Harper #14 of the San Francisco 49ers makes a catch over Malcolm Butler #21 of the New England Patriots during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on November 20, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 20: Chris Harper #14 of the San Francisco 49ers makes a catch over Malcolm Butler #21 of the New England Patriots during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on November 20, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 01: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions looks up at the score board in the closing minutes of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on January 1, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Packers defeated the Lions 31-24. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 01: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions looks up at the score board in the closing minutes of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on January 1, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Packers defeated the Lions 31-24. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

2017 Base Salary: $12,734,000 . Ezekiel Ansah. 3. player. 50. . EDGE

One would probably expect the Detroit Lions to apply the franchise tag on 28-year-old edge rusher Ezekiel Ansah if they can’t reach a long-term deal between now and NFL free agency.

For now, though, he remains a pending free agent still in the prime of his career.

Ansah’s 36 career sacks are enough to get any defensive coordinator salivating, which is why the pass-rush-struggling 49ers should have a vested interest. Despite a deep crop of pass-rushers in the 2017 NFL Draft, general manager John Lynch didn’t take this route to solve the team’s pass rushing needs.

With 49ers EDGE Aaron Lynch hitting free agency this season, Elvis Dumervil (33 years old) aging and Arik Armstead adjusting to a position switch, pouncing on Ansah would immediately upgrade this all-too-important unit.

Ansah isn’t going to come cheap, though. Considering his base salary is already above $12 million this season, Ansah’s 2018 base salary could be somewhere in the range of $18 million per year.

But elite pass-rushers are like franchise-type quarterbacks — hard to find and extremely valuable.

The 49ers could afford it.