49ers 2020 free agency needs: 3 low-cost options at cornerback
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: Darqueze Dennard
2019 Team: Cincinnati Bengals
If the 49ers want to splurge a bit more, but not by much, they’ll likely want to find someone who could hold down a cornerback spot for at least a few years.
That would put Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard into the equation.
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At 28 years old, the former first-round NFL Draft pick also has a few more years before age becomes a concern. Injuries are a bit of a worry, particularly as of late, as Dennard missed the majority of the first half of the season. But when he came back, he was effective enough on an otherwise putrid Bengals defense, with five pass breakups and a 72.2 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus.
Dennard is 5-foot-11, which is a little shorter than what the Niners prefer for their boundary cornerbacks. Yet Emmanuel Moseley is only 5-foot-11, too, so that wipes out the notion San Francisco won’t go after a shorter-bodied defensive back on the outside.
The question is, however, just how much a player like Dennard would cost. Over the Cap’s valuation of his 2019 efforts, contractually, boiled down to $4.4 million for the year.
That’s not terrible at all, considering Jason Verrett ended up commanding over $2 million in salary after playing in just five regular-season games between 2016 and 2018.
Next. San Francisco 49ers: 2020 offseason needs primer. dark
If the 49ers felt they could absorb that kind of money for Dennard, it shouldn’t be too big a worry to try luring him in and getting him away from a franchise mired in NFL purgatory.