49ers mock draft and free agency: Predicting the 2020 NFL offseason
By Chris Wilson
Predicting the San Francisco 49ers’ 2020 offseason, including GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan’s plans for free agency, a forecast of the Niners’ roster moves, and a three-round mock draft.
Today, March 18, 2020, marks the official beginning of the 2020 NFL season, as the league year — and NFL Free Agency — kicks off at 4 pm ET. Oer the past few days, we learned the San Francisco 49ers’ offseason will be more action-packed than expected, as general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan already executed a surprising blockbuster deal and signed several pending free agents to large contracts.
Prior to this weekend, the 49ers were expected to remain fairly dormant over the offseason, given the team’s limited salary cap and the number of prominent pending free agents left unsigned, in addition to key contributors who would soon require contract extensions. We discussed these factors at length on last week’s Niner Noise Podcast.
light. Hot. Podcast: Analyzing the 49ers' options in free agency
On Saturday, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) officially ratified the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which will run through 2030, by a mere 60 votes. In addition to the hot-topic negotiation items like revenue splits and player salaries, changes to drug policies, and the extension of the regular season and playoffs, NFL general managers were first waiting for information about the NFL salary cap.
Tom Pelissero of NFL.com announced the 2020 salary cap will receive an immediate $10 million increase, and our own Matt Verderame of FanSided reported the NFL could raise the salary cap an additional $40 million the following year:
Multiple league sources tell @FanSided the NFL salary cap could potentially reach $240 million in 2021.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) February 28, 2020
The 2020 projected cap is $200M and could settle as high as $204M depending on a few factors.
Now that Lynch and Shanahan have a better understanding of the playing field, the 49ers are free to initiate their 2020 offseason plans, beginning with creating extra cap room so the Niners can be active in free agency.