While it won't be anywhere near as extreme to the sweeping roster changes he had to engineer an offseason ago, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch will nevertheless have to cut the cord on several players whose tenures in the Bay Area will come to a close entering 2026.
Some will be tough decisions, especially those who may be under contract but potentially help improve the roster by becoming a cap casualty.
Others, especially if they're a pending free agent, will make for easy decisions.
In the latter category, Lynch shouldn't have any issue bidding farewell to these five soon-to-be ex-Niners.
WR Brandon Aiyuk
San Francisco already set itself up to give disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk the boot this offseason by voiding his 2026 guarantees after he failed to meet certain contractual obligations during his recovery from a 2025 ACL and MCL tear.
Plus, Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan already confirmed the receiver wouldn't play another snap with the 49ers again anyway.
Now, it's merely a transactional matter. The Niners may seek a trade partner for Aiyuk, although his stock value can't be particularly high right now, and that might simply lead to an outright release with a post-June 1 designation.
Either way, Aiyuk is as good as gone.
DL Yetur Gross-Matos
The Niners took a low-risk swing on edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos in free agency entering 2025, and while there were flashes of promise, Gross-Matos' time in the Bay Area was defined more by injury and unavailability than anything else.
Over two seasons, the 2020 Round 2 draftee appeared in a mere 19 games and logged four sacks, none of which happened last season.
Letting Gross-Matos walk in free agency won't be a tough decision.
OL Spencer Burford
Lynch has plenty of question marks for his offensive line over the next few years, primarily how to find an heir apparent for future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams.
But a lesser-profile move has to be determining a best option at left guard, as Spencer Burford is heading to free agency after four so-so seasons in a primarily platoon-like role.
San Francisco historically hasn't invested big money at guard during Lynch's tenure anyway, so the likelihood is for Burford to walk and the 49ers to look elsewhere.
DE Robert Beal Jr.
Back in 2023, the hope was for then-rookie fifth-round draftee Robert Beal to be a raw-but-promising edge rusher whom defensive line coach Kris Kocurek could turn into a potent situational pass-rusher.
That never materialized, as Beal notched just one sack over the last three seasons and found himself bouncing back and forth from the practice squad over the course of 2025 in what was effectively a make-or-break campaign.
Like Gross-Matos, Beal finds himself an excess commodity amid a D-line that'll ultimately need some fresh talent under new coordinator Raheem Morris.
DB Jason Pinnock
It might not get talked about as much as the need for defensive linemen or wide receivers, but the Niners have a sneaky big need at safety, which means veteran Jason Pinnock probably gets shown the door after largely being a stopgap fill-in for much of 2025, appearing on 46 percent of defensive snaps.
While younger defensive backs like Marques Sigle, Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha also had their ups and downs, it'd serve San Francisco best to see if any of those three present a bigger upside than retaining Pinnock at this point.
Or, putting it bluntly, the 49ers can look elsewhere.