Niner Noise
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Refuting complaints about the 49ers’ 2018 NFL free agency class

By Peter Panacy

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – DECEMBER 20: Jeremiah Attaochu #97 of the San Diego Chargers motions during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Qualcomm Stadium on December 20, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – DECEMBER 20: Jeremiah Attaochu #97 of the San Diego Chargers motions during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Qualcomm Stadium on December 20, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Claim No. 1: The 49ers Weren’t Active Enough

Ever since the conclusion of 2017, many fans turned attention to the lofty amount of cap space San Francisco had. At one point, it was around $117 million — by far the most in the NFL heading into the offseason.

The NFL Draft is the draft, and we’ll get to that in a bit. But, in the meantime, free agency was going to be the route San Francisco solved its roster issues.

Aside from some quarterbacks, the 2018 free-agent class was generally seen as pretty weak. There were some big names (there always are), but the Niners were expected to land the top non-QB names, right?

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Instead, the big names were running back Jerick McKinnon, center Weston Richburg and EDGE Jeremiah Attaochu.

Oh, and a soon-to-be 30-year-old cornerback, Richard Sherman.

That was pretty much it. No big-name wide receiver like Allen Robinson or Sammy Watkins. Not the biggest offensive line target, Andrew Norwell. Certainly not the high-profile cornerbacks Malcolm Butler or Trumaine Johnson.

Why, 49ers? Why?

The 49ers Were Active Enough

Consider some of the top spenders in free agency this offseason. The Cleveland Browns made a flurry of moves, both via trades and free-agent pickups. The New York Jets were pretty active too, including making Johnson the top-paid corner in NFL history.

What do those two teams have in common? Well, they’re bad. Between the two, the Browns and Jets have a combined 11 wins the last two seasons.

Now think about good teams — the trajectory many think the 49ers are on. The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t particularly active. Neither were the Atlanta Falcons nor New England Patriots.

Why? Well, they make efforts to retain and re-sign players key in keeping those teams in perennial contention year after year. They don’t use free agency as a route to make sweeping improvements.

Which leads us to the next claim.