The 49ers boasted the largest number of potential cap casualties, according to one well-regarded salary-cap website.
The San Francisco 49ers have done an excellent job of managing the salary cap during head coach Kyle Shanahan's tenure.
One of their preferred methods is to add void years onto players' contracts, spreading out cap hits and taking on payments at points down the road when the cap is expected to be higher.
Occasionally, though, the Niners have gone with alternative routes, namely engineering salary-related roster cuts. A prime example took place entering 2024 when they parted ways with their longest-tenured player, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, when he refused to accept a pay cut.
San Francisco currently isn't in salary-cap "hell" entering 2025. On the contrary, Shanahan and Co. are carrying over more than $50 million in space from 2024 and could be in the range of $61 million below the estimated 2025 salary cap.
FYI I have the 49ers $61,921,161 under a projected $280M cap, plus the $50,096,964 carryover, & estimated $5M in adjustments, so a $335.111M adjusted salary cap as of now, would be less if cap comes in lower, won't know for a few weeks what the cap will be set at.
— Jason Hurley/2025 SF=$61,921,161 MIN=$76,970,615 (@49erscap) January 10, 2025
That said, the 49ers have already started budgeting for quarterback Brock Purdy's extension, which could potentially reset the market north of $60 million annually.
If that pans out, it could force the Niners into more Armstead-like cap-casualty situations.
And one well-regarded NFL salary-cap site pointed out some potential names to watch this offseason.
Over the Cap lists 6 Niners as potential cap casualties
Over the Cap is one of the more-respected NFL cap sites out there (check them out), and a piece by OTC explored every team's potential cap casualties this offseason, primarily looking at contract structure, guaranteed money and various other salary-related factors.
No other team had more potential casualties than San Francisco, which was also tied with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.
Here are the six candidates from the 49ers:
- DE Yetur Gross-Matos
- DE Leonard Floyd
- WR Deebo Samuel
- FB Kyle Juszczyk
- WR Jauan Jennings
- DT Maliek Collins
Of note, the Niners already declared Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave would be a cap casualty with a post-June 1 designation, so that's of note.
From the remaining names above, only Jennings carries any guaranteed money ($1.17 million) in 2025. However, given his rise to prominence last season, it's difficult to see San Francisco moving on from him in light of a relatively inexpensive max cap hit of $9.5 million.
Samuel, too, seems safe. At least according to general manager John Lynch, who refuted rumors and speculation about the 2021 All-Pro being moved this offseason in light of another down year.
That said, Samuel is entering a contract year.
Of the two pass-rushers named, neither Floyd nor Gross-Matos commands more than $8.5 million in salary for 2025, and that's relatively affordable for B-level edge defenders. In Gross-Matos' case, a knee injury cut his 2024 efforts short, but there are reasons the 49ers would prefer his youth and potential over an aging player like Floyd.
Would the Niners want to depart from Juszczyk? Probably not. Could they? Absolutely.
While there's an argument for each player to be dismissed to save cap space, it seems likely San Francisco has already announced its cap-saving move with the pending Hargrave transaction.
Any of the others would likely be more of a shock.