49ers: 5 players who are playing final season with San Francisco

These five could be playing their final season with the 2020 San Francisco 49ers.

During the 2020 offseason, the San Francisco 49ers weren’t afraid to part ways with players they no longer deemed to be a part of the team’s long-term needs.

The four biggest examples, of course, were defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

Buckner and Sanders were tougher choices, of course. After all, Buckner is a Pro Bowl-caliber player, and only his contractual demands kept the Niners from keeping him around long term. Sanders, meanwhile, helped revamp what was otherwise an underperforming receiving corps in the first half of 2019.

Breida and Goodwin, however, saw their roles decrease significantly last year after being critical components to head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense in 2017 and 2018. Simply put, the Niners had better options they liked more. Breida and Goodwin ended up being excess commodities and were traded in the middle of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Those latter two appear to be the easier of the decisions. Not getting any field time is a pretty good indication the team will move on at the soonest opportunity. But as was the case with Buckner and Sanders, there can be other factors in the mix, too. Sometimes it’s money and the need for teams to get both younger and cheaper that ultimately decide whether or not a team moves on during any given offseason.

Entering 2020, there are a number of players who may not be around a little less than a year from now.

Here are five current 49ers players who could be entering their final year in San Francisco.