San Francisco 49ers: 2020 offseason needs primer
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers face a challenging offseason where there’s limited cap space and only a handful of NFL Draft picks for 2020. So, how do the Niners approach it?
For the past few years, the San Francisco 49ers enjoyed a plethora of salary cap space to attack NFL free agency, and the number of NFL Draft picks available for the offseason was high enough. And for most of those picks, they were very early in each round.
Entering 2020, however, the context of the offseason is entirely different. The Niners are coming off a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, meaning the team has far more talent than years prior. Investing in good players has cut into general manager John Lynch‘s cap space, while much-needed trades for EDGE Dee Ford and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders ultimately mean the 49ers have just one draft pick, No. 31 overall, between Rounds 1 through 4.
As far as cap space is concerned? Well, Over the Cap projects it to be just over $13 million.
The Niners can make some room by restructuring some current deals, along with the likelihood of cutting some players to free up space. But that will only go so far.
The good news, though, is San Francisco is no longer in position where a massive influx of talent is needed. There are only a few holes left on the roster, going along with some long-term solutions to players who may eventually age out or leave via free agency at some point down the road.
Understanding the team’s needs in 2020 is a useful approach, however, and Niner Noise breaks down just what Lynch and Co. will be looking at accomplishing in this breakdown.