49ers free agency news: CBS Sports links playmaking safety to Niners

The 49ers could lose two starting-caliber safeties to NFL free agency this offseason, but CBS Sports suggests this Bills player could fill the void.

The San Francisco 49ers are again faced with some awfully tough decisions in NFL free agency this offseason.

According to Over the Cap, general manager John Lynch and Co. have just $5.89 million available in cap space. While that number is expected to change with contract restructures, extensions and potentially cap casualties, it’s safe to say the Niners are going to have to be picky with which free agents they target on the open market.

And which top-name pending free agents they wish to re-sign, too.

Two veteran defensive backs, Jimmie Ward and Tashaun Gipson, are hitting the open market this offseason. It’s unclear whether or not San Francisco will have the financial ability to re-sign one or both this offseason, if it even wants to do so.

However, if the 49ers prefer to have that elder statesman within the secondary, they could go after this one veteran defensive back, which was a suggestion from CBS Sports.

CBS Sports says Bills safety Jordan Poyer is a great fit for 49ers

CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani recently put together a free-agent fit piece for some of the top names around the league, and he suggests Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer as an ideal NFL free agency target for a Super Bowl-hopeful Niners squad.

Here’s how Dajani justified it:

"The veteran Poyer was truly the secret sauce to Buffalo’s defense. He missed four games last season. Do you know what Buffalo’s record was in those four contests? 1-3. The San Francisco 49ers could be parting ways with Jimmie Ward, Emmanuel Moseley and Tashaun Gipson. They need some reinforcements in the secondary, and Poyer feels like a perfect fit given his experience and desire to chase a ring."

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Poyer, who’ll turn 32 years old this offseason, isn’t exactly an indication of the Niners wanting to get younger. And, considering he’s coming off a 2021 first-team All-Pro selection, a 2022 Pro Bowl nod and has had nine interceptions in those two years combined, it’s not likely Poyer would arrive on the cheap.

In fact, despite missing those four games, OTC still valued Poyer’s play in 2022 at $7.2 million.

It might be just as easy for San Francisco to re-sign Ward at that cost, and Gipson would likely return at a lesser price tag.

That said, Poyer is a major playmaker, and the 49ers would benefit from his presence if either Ward or Gipson left.

They’d just have to figure out a way to afford the Bills safety.