49ers 2019 free agency tracker: Live updates, news and reports
By Chris Wilson
San Francisco 49ers free agent tracker, with live updates throughout 2019 NFL free agency. Bookmark this page for breaking news, including the latest signings, reports, contract details and analysis.
The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2019 NFL free agency period with just over $66 million in available salary cap space, which ranked near the top of the league. This cap surplus gave general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan the flexibility needed to address many of the team’s roster holes prior to the beginning of next month’s 2019 NFL Draft.
As the league’s “legal tampering” period opened on Monday, March 11, it wasn’t a shock to see the Niners linked to more than a few pending free agents.
Rumors are plentiful this time of year, as the proverbial “smoke and mirrors” campaign hits full swing in the run-up to free agency. However, many of these rumors, including one linking San Francisco to running back Le’Veon Bell, didn’t make much sense.
Other rumors have made a lot more sense, in what is expected to be an active free agency period for a 49ers team entering the third year of their rebuild.
Granted, any rumors or reports of free-agent signings can’t become official until the actual start of NFL free agency on Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m. ET — when teams can actually sign players once their 2018 contracts expire.
The 49ers have already re-signed and restructured contracts for a few of their own players from 2018. The Niners also made agreements with one of the top linebackers available on the free-agent market, Kwon Alexander, and traded for one of NFL’s elite edge rushers in Dee Ford.
With free agency officially starting today, Niner Noise gives you our live free agency tracker, with slides breaking down each transaction. But first, we’ll start with a summary of the 49ers’ 2018 free agents who will return to San Francisco for the 2019 season: