With the 2022 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, the 49ers can still afford to go after these three players on the NFL free agency market.
The San Francisco 49ers brought aboard nine players via the 2022 NFL Draft and subsequently signed a number of undrafted free agents to get their offseason roster close to the max of 90 players.
That’s yesterday’s news, though. What’ll happen next is the inevitable tweaking and shifting of the roster as the team gets closer to offseason workouts and training camp later this spring and summer.
The days after the draft mark what’s usually the next big wave of NFL free agency signings, players who slipped through the opening of the league new year back in March, didn’t land with a team when the second wave hit a few weeks later, then had to wait until after the draft for front offices to begin starting agents again.
There’s a reason for all this. For starters, teams want to see how the results of the draft pan out. Additionally, now marks the time when free-agent signings won’t count against the compensatory-pick formula.
That’s important to note, as the Niners could potentially land a comp pick or two next year for net losses of qualifying free agents, such as nose tackle D.J. Jones and left guard Laken Tomlinson.
Already, San Francisco welcomed back a free agent to the folds, cornerback Jason Verrett, who returns on a one-year deal to bolster the cornerback room.
Sure, cap space is at a premium for general manager John Lynch and Co. But if the 49ers are able to negotiate some team-friendly deals, or make other roster tweaks elsewhere, they should free up the cash to grab these still-available free agents right away.
49ers free-agent target No. 3: Safety Jaquiski Tartt
The Niners already engineered one reunion with Jason Verrett. They could manage another with veteran safety Jaquiski Tartt.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan left the door open for a reunion with Tartt immediately after the NFL Draft. Combine that with the fact San Francisco didn’t draft a pure safety through all seven rounds, and you have a bit of a conundrum.
Currently, the only pure strong safeties who could play the position are Talanoa Hufanga, Tarvarius Moore and George Odum, yet all three are more special teams aces than bona fide starters. And if you’re thinking the 49ers could move their sixth-round draft choice, Penn State defensive back Tariq Castro-Fields, into a starting strong safety role right away, well, it’s probably best not to put a rookie into that kind of situation for a team with nothing short of a Super Bowl title as its goal.
The Niners already whiffed on the chance to land All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu, who is returning home to play with the New Orleans Saints.
And unless there’s some major contingency plan that hasn’t been revealed yet, San Francisco will sorely miss Tartt’s presence.
He should be re-signed on yet another one-year deal without question.
49ers free-agent target No. 2: Tight end Jared Cook
At this stage of his career, 35-year-old veteran tight end Jared Cook is nowhere close to being the Pro Bowl-caliber player he was just a few years ago. He was, however, still productive enough in his one-and-only season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021, though, notching a respectable 48 catches for 564 yards and four touchdowns over 16 games, 10 of them starts.
The 49ers already have their top tight end in George Kittle, but it’s no secret head coach Kyle Shanahan has long sought a complementary tight end to pair with the All-Pro. The closest thing Shanahan had to boasting this kind of one-two punch at the position was in 2020 when both Kittle and now-retired Jordan Reed were gracing the field.
Except injuries got in the way of either player benefiting the other for extended periods of time.
At any rate, the Niners completely avoided the tight end position amid what was generally viewed as a weak 2022 NFL Draft class, meaning returnees Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner are the only tight end options to support Kittle right now.
Despite his age and the likelihood of a declining career, Cook is still an upgrade over Dwelley and Woerner, especially in the pass-catching department.
With quarterback Trey Lance needing as many weapons as he can get heading into his first full year as a starter, adding Cook on the cheap certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.
49ers free-agent target No. 1: Center J.C. Tretter
If veteran Pro Bowl center Alex Mack rebuffs the notion he’s going to retire this offseason, this is a moot point. And the fact San Francisco didn’t draft a pure center suggests he won’t, although the undrafted free-agent pickup of Arizona State’s Dohnovan West is surely intriguing enough.
West was frequently pegged as a third- or fourth-round prospect, after all.
Let’s assume for a moment that Mack either remains undecided or is actually planning to hang up his cleats, thereby creating a major void at a position of great importance to Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan has historically been reluctant to offer this role to a rookie or second-year player, meaning West likely won’t step in right away if Mack retires.
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The contingency plan? Grab former Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter.
Tretter, 31 years old, has played in Shanahan-like offenses before, so that part of the transition wouldn’t be too difficult. And with Trey Lance poised to take over duties under center, it would be another smart play to have some serious experience in front of him instead of a first-year UDFA like West.
The 49ers may have to pay Tretter a bit more than bargain-basement value, as teams are always wise to scramble for above-average offensive linemen after the draft.
But if Mack is retiring, that’d be the wisest of plays.