San Francisco 49ers: Full 2018 NFL free agency preview and analysis
By Peter Panacy
Pending Free Agents on the 49ers Roster
It’s not a surprise to see a good chunk of San Francisco’s pending free agents as holdovers from the previous regime under former general manager Trent Baalke.
John Lynch spent considerable effort overhauling and replacing this crop last season, and the next phase likely continues this offseason.
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For starters, here’s the list of pending free agents on the Niners roster until the league’s new year:
- Safety Eric Reid
- Defensive Tackle Tank Carradine
- Inside Linebacker Brock Coyle
- Right Guard Brandon Fusco
- Cornerback Leon Hall
- Running Back Carlos Hyde
- Defensive Tackle Leger Douzable
- Wide Receiver Louis Murphy
- Defensive Tackle Chris Jones
- Cornerback Asa Jackson
- Center Tim Barnes
- Tight End Logan Paulsen
- Cornerback Dontae Johnson
- Safety Antone Exum
- EDGE Aaron Lynch
The two biggest names on this list are safety Eric Reid and running back Carlos Hyde. Reid, who bumped down to strong safety under coordinator Robert Saleh this season, was essentially pushed out of a starting job here by the younger Jaquiski Tartt.
Reid eventually got his position back after Tartt went down with a season-ending arm injury last year. But Tartt looks to be a bigger part of the future. And he’s still on his rookie contract.
Meanwhile, the 49ers met with Hyde’s agent at the NFL Scouting Combine. The details of that meeting aren’t exactly known, but the Niners didn’t apply the franchise tag to either Hyde or Reid.
It seems as if San Francisco is comfortable letting both walk.
Other Names the 49ers May Re-Sign
The 49ers need another EDGE presence after electing not to pick up veteran edge rusher Elvis Dumervil’s 2018 option. Defensive tackle Tank Carradine was supposed to be a quality pass-rusher off the outside, as his collegiate campaign indicated. But Carradine never reached that point, developing into a better run stopper at the pro level.
San Francisco doesn’t need another one of those, but depth could help.
Right guard Brandon Fusco, who was one of the more consistent (if not brilliant) offensive linemen last year, could be a solid re-sign candidate. Guard play is a question mark for the Niners this offseason, making this a possibility.
Meanwhile, linebacker Reuben Foster’s off-field circumstances — and probable six-game suspension in 2018 — push re-signing Brock Coyle atop the team’s to-do list. Coyle, primarily a special teams player, earned significant starting time last season, starting 10 games over the course of the year.