The San Francisco 49ers brought in plenty of less-known cornerbacks during the offseason to help alleviate free-agent losses like Charvarius Ward and Isaac Yiadom.
Among those is Siran Neal, a 30-year-old veteran who broke into the league back in 2018 as a Round 5 NFL Draft pickup of the Buffalo Bills out of Jacksonville State, spending six years in Upstate New York before a 2024 campaign with the Miami Dolphins.
Now, the 6-foot, 206-pound Neal is on the opposite coast, hoping to wind down his pro career with the Niners.
Neal, who has never missed more than one regular-season game in a year, has durability on his side but isn't exactly known for being someone coordinators would want to rely upon on defense. Over his eight-year career, he started just one game out of 114 played, and the overwhelming bulk of his snaps during that span came on special teams.
OK, so San Francisco inked Neal as a special teams ace under new coordinator Brant Boyer, who saw plenty of the defensive back during their tenure together within the AFC East, right? And the 49ers' opening moves in free agency focused primarily on special teams, too, so that makes sense.
But, if you're thinking Neal is just a training camp/preseason body with longshot hopes of making the 53-man roster, think again.
Siran Neal is effectively guaranteed a spot on 49ers' 53-man roster
If you want to figure out what Neal's chances are to make the final cut and be part of the Niners' regular-season squad, follow the money.
Neal inked a two-year deal with San Francisco on March 18, indicating he was one of Boyer's primary targets when players were officially able to sign free-agent contracts. Plus, the fact it's a two-year contract indicates Boyer and Co. aren't looking at the veteran as a camp body. They see him as a vital piece in helping restore special teams to some level of respectability -- an area where this third phase hasn't been in years.
The total contract itself is worth up to $4 million, according to Over the Cap, but the kicker is $2.255 million of that amount is fully guaranteed.
There's no way the 49ers would dish out that amount of guaranteed cash to a player they weren't 100-percent sure about making the 53-man roster.
While fans may not see Neal that much on defense, they'll see him aplenty during kickoffs, punts and kicks. Hopefully, both Neal and Boyer are capable of turning this dilapidated unit around in short order, especially if the financial investment is there.