SF 49ers: Top 10 salary cap hits for 2021 team roster

Niner Noise takes a look at the 10 SF 49ers players who are scheduled to make the most in 2021.

A few weeks after the SF 49ers‘ 2020 campaign came to a premature close following a 6-10 finish and the failure to make the playoffs, the key focus on “why” centered around the overwhelming number of injuries the team suffered over the course of the season.

In total, the Niners had a whopping $79,422,817 committed to players on injured reserve, and that number actually increases a lot when one considers the number of players who ended up returning from short-term IR stints but weren’t available for much of the regular season.

One of the byproducts of that was San Francisco’s need to sign additional players, either up from the practice squad or outside free agents, thereby cutting into the amount of 2020 cap rollover that would have been beneficial to its 2021 salary cap situation.

ESPN’s Field Yates reported each team’s 2020 rollover, and he had the SF 49ers carrying over a mere $1.922 million from last season. This stands in pretty stark contrast to the $7.86 million carried over into 2020 from 2019.

As such, the Niners are currently projected to have just under $11.79 million in cap space against a predicted $176 million salary cap in 2021 with $168.1 million already committed to player salaries this upcoming season.

Here are the top 10 cap hits for San Francisco scheduled to be on the books for 2020:

1. QB Jimmy Garoppolo: $26.9 million (15.1%)
2. EDGE Dee Ford: $20,784,996 (11.7%)
3. DE Arik Armstead: $12.5 million (7%)
4. C Weston Richburg: $11,862,791 (6.7%)
5. S Jimmie Ward: $11 million (6.2%)
6. EDGE Nick Bosa: $9,325,509 (5.2%)
7. OG Laken Tomlinson: $6,585,176 (3.7%)
8. RT Mike McGlinchey: $6,006,052 (3.4%)
9. TE George Kittle: $5.45 million (3.1%)
10. RB Raheem Mostert: $3,608,334 (2%)

Having five of those players finish the season on some form of injury list didn’t help matters much, but injuries could ultimately affect the SF 49ers’ offseason plans.

Two of the three names most commonly associated with cap casualties this season are Ford and Richburg. Cutting them before June 1 could save $6.43 million and $4.90 million, respectively, but the matter is made more complicated by the fact the Niners can’t simply part ways with either player until he’s fully healthy.

Needless to say, both Ford and Richburg’s recovery process this offseason is going to be a watch point for San Francisco’s front office.

The other name, of course, is Garoppolo who could generate $24.1 million in much-needed cap space if the SF 49ers elect to move on from him this offseason. That suggestion has been a major talking point for much of 2020 and into 2021, both in light of serious injuries he suffered in 2018 and last year along with his true fit within head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

The Niners could have either extended or restructured his contract, converting base pay into a signing bonus that would be prorated over additional years beyond his would-be free-agent season after 2022. But that would link San Francisco to Garoppolo for a significantly longer period of time.

The fact the SF 49ers haven’t done this yet is an indicator they’re not quite committed to him at any point beyond this upcoming season.

All contract and cap information courtesy of Over the Cap unless otherwise indicated.