SF 49ers: Carl Lawson a low-budget NFL free agency target
By Peter Panacy
There’s a good chance the SF 49ers move on from oft-injured and expensive EDGE Dee Ford this offseason. And if they’re able to make Ford a cap casualty after June 1, they’d save $15.3 million in much-needed cap space against just $4.8 million in dead money, according to Over the Cap.
But Super Bowl LV showed why having an elite-level duo of outside pass-rushers can be so important. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ tandem of edge rushers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul made life hell for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, ultimately influencing Kansas City scoring just nine points in its loss to the Bucs.
The Niners already have one prolific pass-rusher, Nick Bosa, who is returning from an ACL tear. Yet Ford’s status for 2021 and the fact both depth pass-rushers, Ronald Blair and Kerry Hyder, are free agents this offseason, San Francisco might be forced to explore other contingency options.
Especially with a projected $14 million in cap space, making the budget variety of free-agent targets more plausible.
It’s why Cincinnati Bengals EDGE Carl Lawson could make a lot of sense.
SF 49ers should actively pursue Carl Lawson in NFL free agency
As our friends over at Niners Nation suggested, Lawson would be a good target for the SF 49ers on the cheap:
"Sports Info Solutions charts total points saved, and Lawson finished 13th this past season among edge rushers. The only name listed above who finished higher than Lawson was [Leonard] Williams.Lawson had 5.5 sacks for the Bengals this past season but led the NFL in QB hits and knockdowns with 42 and 27, respectively, per SIS. Only Aaron Donald and Emmanuel Ogbah finished with more total pressures than Lawson. Still, for some reason, he’s being left out of the conversation when it comes to the top edge rushers available."
| Game | Game | Fumb | Fumb | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | FF | FR | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits |
| 2017 | 22 | CIN | 16 | 1 | 8.5 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 21 | ||
| 2018 | 23 | CIN | 7 | 0 | 1.0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2019 | 24 | CIN | 12 | 2 | 5.0 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 2020 | 25 | CIN | 16 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 5.5 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 32 |
| Care | Care | 51 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 20.0 | 81 | 49 | 32 | 19 | 83 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 2/8/2021.
Lawson isn’t considered one of the premier NFL free agency edge rushers this offseason, and the relative lack of sacks the last three years might have something to do with that. But as Niners Nation pointed out, Lawson can still be awfully effective.
Now, there is a bit of an injury history with the Bengals’ former fourth-round NFL Draft pick. He was hindered by a hamstring injury early in 2019, and he also suffered a torn ACL in 2018.
One could assume the two injuries were related, and the hope would be Lawson is fully recovered and plays much more like he did last season.
The question now, of course, would be how much Lawson could command on the open market. Being it’s his first stab into free agency, there’s a good chance he wants to command something in the range of $10 million per year. But that would be notably cheaper than what Ford is set to earn, and it probably could be in the range of what Hyder could command after leading the SF 49ers with 8.5 sacks last season.
And as far as good pass-rushers go, that amount of money is still a bargain.
At 25 years old, Lawson would have the age advantage over the 29-year-old Hyder. That’s an added bonus.
Next. 5 free agents 49ers should avoid at all costs in 2021. dark
Teams can never have too many pass-rushers, and the Niners are facing a real danger at missing out on their pass-rushing depth.
Going after Lawson this offseason would help solve a lot of those concerns.