5 pending free-agent 49ers who have earned new contracts for 2022
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair
Up to now, each one of the pending 49ers free agents have been of the unrestricted variety.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who has assumed the full-time role of a starter with fellow backer Dre Greenlaw being out for almost all of the year, is a restricted free agent and gives the Niners a bit more flexibility.
It’s possible San Francisco explores a second-round RFA tender on Al-Shaair this offseason, which Over the Cap projects to be at $3.927 million.
That’d be a lot for a No. 3 linebacker on the depth chart, but that’s only assuming the 49ers peg Al-Shaair as a strong-side (SAM) linebacker behind Greenlaw and Fred Warner.
There’s a strong argument Al-Shaair, who ranks second on the team in tackles with 86, should remain in a starter’s role upon Greenlaw’s return, pushing the latter to third-tier duties and only on base formations or in a rotational role.
It makes sense.
Additionally, it might also make sense for the Niners to scrap the idea of a 2022 RFA tender and offer up a three-year extension for Al-Shaair to keep him around well beyond this season.