49ers roster: How Dee Ford release will impact salary cap

49ers wanted to wait until after June 1 to release Dee Ford

Dee Ford has played 378 regular-season defensive snaps with the Niners since being acquired back in 2019.

From a cash-per-snap perspective, it’s safe to say San Francisco hasn’t gotten its money’s worth.

Post-June 1 release designations are intended to give cap-pressed teams, like the 49ers in 2022, a better opportunity to let go of players with less of a cap hit.

In Ford’s case, waiting until after June 1 would at least generate $1.12 million in cap space for this season, as The Athletic’s David Lombardi pointed out:

Granted, the Niners are still going to have to eat $5.8 million in dead money this season, but with four voided years starting in 2023, the remainder of his dead-money hit can be spread out over a period of time when the NFL salary cap is expected to increase significantly.

Ford’s 2023 dead-money hit is anticipated to be another $5.8 million with subsequent hits over the following three years of $920,000.

Expensive, yes. But better than paying Ford not to play at all while generating at least some savings.

Again, Ford’s tenure with San Francisco is going to be remembered as a major overspend on a player, who despite his talents, ultimately was beset by too many injuries to become the X-factor for which the 49ers had hoped.

Few could have predicted that outcome, but it’s nevertheless a shame regardless, and his imminent release will finally signal the end of that disappointment.