5 free agents 49ers will be glad they didn’t sign in 2022
By Peter Panacy
Oftentimes, it’s the deals teams don’t make that prove vital, and the 49ers should look back at their 2022 offseason and be glad they didn’t ink these free agents.
The major-construction portion of the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 offseason is over, and general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan might be looking back and wondering whether or not they did enough to put their team into the best possible position this season.
Maybe. Maybe not. That won’t be determined until January.
It’s fair to question whether or not the Niners could have done more in NFL free agency, certainly handicapped by one quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, and his hefty contract that prevented Lynch and Co. from going on a massive spending spree.
That said, San Francisco might actually be happy it didn’t sign some notable free agents anyway, particularly these five who’ll likely prove to be regret points for their respective teams in the not-too-distant future.
All contractual information, courtesy of Over the Cap unless otherwise indicated.
No. 5: 49ers can be glad they didn’t sign RB James Conner
On the surface, it might seem weird to think Shanahan would push out a lot of money for a running back in NFL free agency.
But he’s done so before, first with now-Kansas City Chiefs tailback Jerick McKinnon way back in 2018 and then again with fellow running back Tevin Coleman in 2019.
Still, the 49ers can be plenty happy with one of their NFC West rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, re-signing 27-year-old running back James Conner to a three-year, $21 million deal with $13.5 million fully guaranteed.
No halfback on the Niners roster makes more than $1.2 million annually.
Perhaps San Francisco would have been curious to ink the two-time Pro Bowler, Conner, after his 18-touchdown campaign, plucking away a productive player from a division rival. Yet Conner isn’t a workhorse tailback and has yet to crest 1,000 yards in a single season, meaning Arizona overpaid for a player whose lone knack is finding the end zone in goal-line situations.