The 49ers didn’t make a ton of splash moves in NFL free agency, but the opening wave of transactions did produce some clear-cut winners and losers.
The first week of 2022 NFL free agency is effectively over.
Usually, this is the time where teams offer up massive contracts, especially in the opening days, followed by some still-impressive deals for both top-name players and under-the-radar targets.
The San Francisco 49ers weren’t overly aggressive on the open market, of course, mostly signing B-list contributors to help bolster up specific areas of need. For a team on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl, though, that’s probably the right approach for general manager John Lynch.
Lynch’s moves reveal a lot about what the team’s priorities are this offseason. In the nature of competition inside the greater competition that is the NFL, however, there are going to be some winners and losers.
With one week of NFL free agency in the books, let’s look at which Niners ended up being big-time winners and which ones are on the losing side of the equation.
Winner: 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward
Easily the biggest transaction San Francisco engineered in the opening week, signing former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward to a three-year deal worth as much as $42 million, it’s hard not to peg Ward as a massive winner.
His $14 million annual average won’t put him in the top echelon of highest-paid cornerbacks, of course. But it’s certainly a lofty enough price tag to reward him for three years of being a quality starter.
More importantly, the 28 year old who registered two interceptions and 10 pass breakups for the Chiefs last season gets recognition as the 49ers’ highest offseason priority, addressing a need for the team that’ll instantly make him a point of focus.
If he thrives in that role, it’ll be all the better.
Loser: 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir
Charvarius Ward automatically shakes up the Niners’ depth chart at cornerback. Fellow corners Ambry Thomas and Emmanuel Moseley now have to compete for the No. 2 spot here, although it’s possible San Francisco takes one of those two names and puts him in at nickel, which is essentially a starting position in today’s NFL anyway.
However, second-year pro Deommodore Lenoir just watched himself get pushed way down towards the bottom of the depth chart.
Granted, Lenoir became something of an afterthought during the second half of 2021 despite some modestly impressive moments, both during training camp and the preseason. However, his lack of coverage skills and speed showed once the regular season began, and it sure looked as if the 49ers weren’t comfortable at all with putting him in a featured role.
No, they felt more comfortable with castoff veteran options like Josh Norman and Dre Kirkpatrick.
Sure, young defensive backs can struggle early in their respective careers. But the Ward signing surely isn’t a good indicator of the Niners having much confidence in Lenoir’s development.
Winner: Offensive guard Aaron Banks
San Francisco elected to let veteran Pro Bowl guard Laken Tomlinson walk in NFL free agency, and it’s not likely the 49ers would have been able to compete with the three-year, $40 million deal the New York Jets awarded him.
Had Tomlinson re-signed, however, it would have been awfully bad news for second-year guard Aaron Banks, the Niners’ Round 2 NFL Draft pick from a year ago who flopped in the preseason, found himself inactive for a massive chunk of the regular season and saw a mere five offensive snaps over the course of the year.
Perhaps San Francisco was planning for this, though, letting Banks sit for a year with the intent of making him a starter in year two.
Or, just as possibly, Banks has to be the contingency fallback option for the 49ers, who’ll have little other choice but to start him at left guard in 2022.
Either way, Banks is now granted a golden opportunity to finally live up to the investment the Niners made in him a year ago.
Loser: Wide receiver Richie James
Maybe San Francisco lost confidence in wide receiver Richie James a long time ago, effectively removing him from the offensive game plan and allowing him almost solely to be a return specialist on special teams.
Of course, James being waived with an injury designation before the start of the 2021 season didn’t help, and after no other team claimed him, he reverted back to injured reserve and entered free agency in 2022.
The 49ers could have considered bringing James back as a contingency plan, particularly after last year’s return game struggled to find a permanent solution.
Yet the addition of former Pittsburgh Steelers return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud, who led the league with 38 punt returns and 367 yards last season, will put an end to that possibility.
No team desired to put in a claim on an injured James a year ago, and it wouldn’t be shocking at all if a now-healthy James garners almost zero interest on the free-agent market after flaming out with the Niners.
Winner: Special teams coordinator Brian Schneider
San Francisco wanted to address its cornerback room. But after being ranked 26th by Football Outsiders a year ago, it was clear special teams needed a massive overhaul, too, kickstarted by bidding farewell to now-Chicago Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.
In his place, the 49ers hired former Seattle Seahawks special teams coordinator Brian Schneider to assume the same duties, and the Hawks have had a nice longstanding success on this critical third phase of the game under his tenure.
It would be one thing if Schneider was brought in to merely help this beleaguered unit. But John Lynch made many a move to give Schneider more ammunition.
In addition to the Ray-Ray McCloud contract, Lynch brought aboard former Green Bay Packers linebacker Oren Burks to help here, as well as signing former Indianapolis Colts safety George Odum, who was a 2020 first-team All-Pro for his efforts on special teams plays.
If anything, the Niners have focused the bulk of their attention towards improving this part of the game so far in NFL free agency.
And Schneider will go down as a massive winner because of it.
Loser: Jimmy Garoppolo trade market
San Francisco could have been more open to accepting the best possible deal from a quarterback-needy team for veteran Jimmy Garoppolo before NFL free agency began. Perhaps immediately after news of the Seahawks trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos broke.
As things turned out, though, many of those teams decided to go with alternatives, such as the Washington Commanders trading for Carson Wentz, which still opened up a void for the Indianapolis Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers signing former Buffalo Bills backup and former first-round NFL Draft choice, Mitchell Trubisky, instead of trading assets for Garoppolo.
Read More: How 49ers botched trade market for Jimmy Garoppolo
Things got weirder with the sweepstakes for former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, too, as he ended up being traded to the Cleveland Browns, who were then coerced into trading their quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
The craziness of the offseason quarterback carousel is flying above Garoppolo’s market, and the number of teams looking at potentially making a move for Jimmy G is also dwindling.
Sure, the 49ers may still benefit by waiting it out, hoping one of the last remaining squads in need of a starting signal-caller gets desperate.
Still, the Niners should have acted more swiftly here.
Winner: Wide receiver Jauan Jennings
San Francisco still has depth questions at wide receiver even if the one-two tandem of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are sufficient enough to shoulder the load entering 2022.
Two factors work into play for why third-year pro Jauan Jennings is a massive winner here.
For starters, and in addition to his loud 24-catch, 282-yard, five-touchdown campaign last season, San Francisco elected not to re-sign fellow wideout Trent Sherfield, who was arguably the only rostered receiver who could have challenged Jennings for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart in 2022 had he stayed.
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Sherfield, instead, is off to reunite with former 49ers offensive coordinator, turned Miami Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel.
Second, the Niners chose not to get involved in the wide receiver sweepstakes much at all. Aside from the Ray-Ray McCloud deal, and a special teams move at that, San Francisco elected not to get in on the market for standout wideouts like the Los Angeles Rams’ Allen Robinson or the Kansas City Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster. Even secondary and tertiary names were all but completely avoided by the 49ers, too, helping ensure Jennings has a bona fide role on offense heading towards training camp.