Looking at the 49ers 2022 & 2023 salary cap situations, along with what it would cost to tag Deebo in 2023, & my camp battles for 2022

With the 49ers set to report for training camp on July 26^th, I thought I would go over the 49ers current 2022 & 2023 salary cap situations, along with looking at the Deebo Samuel situation, as well as a pending extension for Nick Bosa, & potentially Samuel, and finally my key training camp battles.

Right now, the 49ers are $4,084,665 under their 2022 adjusted salary cap, thanks in large part to the retirement of center Alex Mack, & that money will likely be used on extensions for Nick Bosa, and hopefully Deebo Samuel, but we’ll talk about that later.

First off, let’s begin with training camp, and my current top camp battles.

Let me first list the 49ers current roster, with their salary cap number, sorted by locks, 50/50’s, & longshots to make the 2022 roster, in my opinion of course.

Locks:

1. QB 5 Trey Lance(2024)- $7,751,195
2. QB 7 Nate Sudfeld(2022)- $2,000,000
3. RB 25 Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $870,893
4. RB 28 Trey Sermon(2024)- $1,107,485
5. RB 32 Tyrion Davis-Price(2025)- $928,826
6. FB 44 Kyle Juszcyzk(2025)- $2,958,750
7. WR 19 Deebo Samuel(2022)- $4,809,519
8. WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk(2023)- $3,417,641
9. WR 15 Jauan Jennings(2022)- $825,000
10. WR/KR/PR 3 Ray-Ray McCloud III(2023)- $1,910,000
11. WR 86 Danny Gray(2025)- $917,255
12. TE 85 George Kittle(2025)- $7,679,765
13. TE 89 Charlie Woerner(2023)- 940,258
14. TE 82 Ross Dwelley(2022)- $1,047,500
15. C 64 Jake Brendel(2022)- $895,000
16. LG 65 Aaron Banks(2024)- $1,607,638
17. RG 76 Jaylon Moore(2024)- $905,759
18. RG 60 Daniel Brunskill(2022)- $2,433,000
19. LT 71 Trent Williams(2026)- $14,031,765
20. LT 68 Colton McKivitz(2022)- $895,000
21. RT 69 Mike McGlinchey(2022)- $10,880,000
22. RT 74 Spencer Burford(2025)- $873,014
23. DE 97 Nick Bosa(2023)- $10,805,564
24. DE 56 Samson Ebukam(2022)- $8,250,000
25. DE 53 Kemoko Turay(2022)- $1,700,000
26. DE 92 Kerry Hyder Jr.(2022)- $1,500,000
27. DE 95 Drake Jackson(2025)- $1,071,344
28. DE 94 Charles Omenihu(2022)- $2,540,000
29. DT 91 Arik Armstead(2024)- $9,576,000
30. NT 99 Javon Kinlaw(2023)- $4,224,191
31. NT 98 Hassan Ridgeway(2022)- $1,800,000
32. NT 93 Kalia Davis(2025)*- $738,003
33. WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2022)- $2,620,429
34. MLB 54 Fred Warner(2026)- $8,134,588
35. MLB 48 Oren Burks(2023)- $1,408,000
36. SLB 51 Azeez Al-Shaair(2022)- $3,986,000
37. CB 35 Charvarius Ward(2024)- $3,800,000
38. CB 4 Emmanuel Moseley(2022)- $6,555,529
39. CB 20 Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,087,693
40. CB 38 Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $896,217
41. CB 26 Samuel Womack III(2025)- $775,831
42. CB 36 Tariq Castro-Fields(2025)- $738,003
43. CB 2 Jason Verrett(2022)*- $895,000
44. CB 27 Dontae Johnson(2022)- $1,047,500
45. FS 1 Jimmie Ward(2022)- $12,935,588
46. FS 33 Tarvarius Moore(2022)- $1,035,000
47. SS 29 Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $885,038
48. SS 30 George Odum(2024)- $1,435,000
49. PK 9 Robbie Gould(2022)- $5,509,313
50. P 18 Mitch Wishnowsky(2022)- $1,156,018
51. LS 46 Taybor Pepper(2022)- $1,120,000

50/50s:

1. QB 10 Jimmy Garoppolo(2022)- $26,950,000
2. RB 22 Jeff Wilson Jr.(2022)- $1,085,000
3. RB 23 JaMycal Hasty(2022)- $895,000
4. WR 17 Malik Turner(2022)- $945,000
5. WR 6 Marcus Johnson(2022)- $895,000
6. TE 84 Tanner Hudson(2022)- $895,000
7. TE 88 Jordan Matthews(2022)- $895,000
8. TE 49 Troy Fumagalli(2022)- $895,000
9. TE 47 Tyler Kroft(2022)- $995,000
10. C 61 Dohnovan West(2024)- $710,000
11. C 62 Jason Poe(2024)- $708,333
12. LG 63 Nick Zakelj(2025)- $752,590
13. DE 75 Jordan Willis(2022)- $970,000
14. DE 55 Dee Ford(2022)- $6,949,997
15. DT 90 Kevin Givens(2022)- $895,000
16. DT 96 Maurice Hurst Jr.(2022)- $945,000
17. WLB 47 Jeremiah Gemmel(2024)- $711,666
18. SLB 45 Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles(2022)- $895,000
19. CB 31 Darqueze Dennard(2022)- $895,000
20. SS 14 Leon O’Neal Jr.(2024)- $708,333

Longshots:

1. QB 14 Brock Purdy(2025)- $724,253
2. RB 41 Jordan Mason(2024)- $708,333
3. FB 40 Josh Hokit(2022)- $705,000
4. WR 13 KeeSean Johnson(2022)- $895,000
5. WR 81 Austin Mack(2022)- $825,000
6. WR 83 Tay Martin(2024)- $707,833
7. WR 18 Taysir Mack(2024)- $705,000
8. RG 66 Keaton Sutherland(2022)- $895,000
9. LT 78 Sam Schlueter(2024)- $706,666
10. RT 67 Justin Skule(2022)- $939,887
11. RT 77 Alfredo Gutierrez(2022)- $705,000
12. DE 58 Alex Barrett(2022)- $825,000
13. DT 77 Kevin Atkins(2024)- $706,666
14. WLB 49 Segun Olubi(2024)- $706,000
15. WLB 59 Curtis Robinson(2022)- $825,000
16. SLB 40 Marcelino McCrary-Ball(2024)- $711,666
17. CB 43 Qwuantrezz Knight(2024)- $707,000
18. CB 24 Ka’dar Hollman(2022)- $895,000
19. FS 41 Tayler Hawkins(2024)- $708,333

The 49ers have very few big question marks, depending on who you ask, or listen to, but for me, they are as follows.

Who will start at center? The 49ers have Jake Brendel signed for 2022, and he’s definitely a lock to make this team, and likely start at center, but don’t be surprised if one of their UDFAs, Dohnovan West, or Jason Poe not only make the roster, but eventually take over at center, especially in the long term.

Next up is who will be the teams’ starting right guard, well, my best bet is Jaylon Moore, but Daniel Brunskill, the incumbent starter, will also compete for that spot along with the likes of Colton McKivitz, & Nick Zakelj, who could be viewed as a potential future starting center.

We also don’t know will be the teams’ new strong safety now that Jaquiski Tartt is officially gone, with the 3 main candidates being Tarvarius Moore, Talanoa Hufanga, and George Odum, & at this time I believe Hufanga has the best chance, with Moore playing in those 3 safety packages, while Odum will be a key special teamer, but a player who can also help in the box at safety.

Those are my top camp battles, but I have other battles that I’ll be keeping my eye on as training camp, and the preseason goes on, with those below.

At quarterback we all know that Trey Lance will be the week 1 starting QB despite what the media, or others want you to think, while Nate Sudfeld is the teams #2 QB, as he signed a 1-year deal, worth as much as $3 million, with a fully guaranteed $2 million base salary, and of course we have Jimmy Garoppolo, who is close to being medically cleared to throw, which means we should have some trade talks, hopefully, heat up, if not, the 49ers have to decide if keeping Garoppolo is worth risking losing potentially as much as $15 million in carryover for 2023.

Next up are the teams’ wide receivers, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud III, & Danny Gray are all locked into roster spots, and the team could decide to roll with just those 5, but if they choose to go with a 6^th WR, then I believe it comes down to veterans Malik Turner, & Marcus Johnson, as Turner has $300,000 fully guaranteed, and Johnson has $250,000 fully guaranteed, but these are small amounts, basically practice squad money, so if they do keep a 6^th, my favorite is Turner.

When it comes to the 49ers’ tight ends, it’s clear that George Kittle, & Charlie Woerner are locked into spots 100%, with Ross Dwelley a lock as well, at this time, as he has $250,000 of his base salary fully guaranteed, while they also signed veterans Tyler Kroft, who got a $25,000 signing bonus, Troy Fumagalli, as well as practice squad tight ends Tanner Hudson, & Jordan Matthews.

If the 49ers decide to go with just 5 WRs, then it’s possible that the 49ers go with 4 TEs, with Kroft & Fumagalli being my favorites to win that spot, and don’t be surprised if Dwelley is released, and brought back to the practice squad, as 1. He won’t go through waivers, and 2. His guaranteed money is basically practice squad money.

The backup center job will likely end up going to Daniel Brunskill, as he can play pretty much every spot on the offense line, but don’t rule out Dohnovan West, Jason Poe, & Nick Zakelj.

The 49ers are set at Tackle in my opinion, as Trent Williams will be the teams’ left tackle, Mike McGlinchey the right tackle, and in my opinion, Spencer Burford will be the teams’ primary backup, with Brunskill also being a primary backup.

One big question I have is, will the 49ers keep 9 or 10 offensive linemen?

We know that Jake Brendel, Aaron Banks, Jaylon Moore, Daniel Brunskill, Trent Williams, Mike McGlinchey, & Spencer Burford as locks to make the teams 53-man roster, baring injuries, which leaves 2-3 open roster spots, with the likes of Dohnovan West, Jason Poe, Colton McKivitz, Justin Skule, & Nick Zakelj all competing for those roster spots, with McKivitz being the most likely of the bunch to be as close to a lock as possible.

On the defensive line, the 49ers are stacked, on the EDGE they have Nick Bosa, Samson Ebukam, Kerry Hyder Jr., Kemoko Turay, Charles Omenihu, & Drake Jackson all, in my eyes, being locks to make the team, while they also have Jordan Willis competing for a roster spot.

While I have Ebukam as a lock, if he does get outplayed in camp, and/or preseason, it’s possible that the 49ers cut or trade Ebukam, which would save the team $6.4 million in salary cap room, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this does happen, but only if Ebukam is outplayed.

Now the interior defensive line does have some solid players, with Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, & Hassan Ridgeway as locks to make the team, with Kevin Givens, & Maurice Hurst Jr. battling for what could be 1 last interior defensive line spot.

Now, if the 49ers decided to keep 11 defensive linemen, then the 49ers could keep Willis, Givens, and/or Hurst, depending on what happens with Ebukam, which would free up practice squad spots for other defensive linemen.

A name I didn’t mention is Kalia Davis, as he tore his ACL late last year, and won’t be ready for the beginning of the 2022 season, so he’ll start the season on reserve/NFI, with the potential to come back late in 2022, but more likely he will make his 49ers’ debut in 2023, potentially as the teams’ new nose tackle.

At linebacker the 49ers have, what I believe, is the best trio in all of the NFL, with Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, & Azeez Al-Shaair, and they added Oren Burks in free agency from the Packers, so there are the teams’ top 4 linebackers, but if the team keeps a 5^th, then it comes down to Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Curtis Robinson, & UDFAs Jeremiah Gemmel, Segun Olubi, & Marcelino McCrary-Ball, with Flannigan-Fowles having the edge, as he knows the system, and has been with the 49ers his entire career, but don’t count out Gemmel.

In the defensive backfield we have what may be a big strength for the team, the cornerbacks, with the team adding Charvarius Ward from the Chiefs, along with the returning Emmanuel Moseley, Ambry Thomas, Dontae Johnson, Darqueze Dennard, Jason Verrett, & Deommodore Lenoir, along with rookies Samuel Womack III, Tariq Castro-Fields, & Qwuantrezz Knight.

Of the above cornerbacks, I have Ward, Moseley, Thomas, Johnson, Lenoir, Womack, & Castro-Fields as guys locked in, with Castro-Fields not being 100% a lock, but I like his upside, and he’s signed to a cheap rookie deal, like most of these players are.

Now, I didn’t mention Jason Verrett for a reason, as I’m not confident that he’ll be ready to play, or will stay healthy, but I do have him as a lock to make the team one way or the other, as he either 1. Plays great, shows he’s healthy, and is on the week 1 roster, or 2. He ends up beginning on either reserve/PUP or short term injured reserve.

We have the safeties now, as I mentioned earlier, the strong safety spot is up for grabs, but the free safety spot is secured, by Jimmie Ward, who may be the most underrated, & underappreciated 49er when it comes to the fans.

So, the 4 safeties will most likely end up being Ward, Tarvarius Moore, Talanoa Hufanga, & George Odum, with the potential for UDFA Leon O’Neal Jr. to make the roster as a 5^th safety.

As for the special teams, it’s easy, they have only 3 specialists, PK Robbie Gould, P Mitch Wishnowsky, & LS Taybor Pepper, so those 3 will be here for 2022, but the unit should much improved over 2021, as they added the best returner on the open market in Ray-Ray McCloud III, and 2 special team aces in George Odum, & Oren Burks, so I expect this unit to be much much better in 2022.

Ok, let’s take a look at 2023, where the 49ers currently have 43 players signed, with an estimated $25,007,494 in salary cap room on a $225 million projected cap, but that’s with just 43 players signed, when we add in enough for the top 51 rule, the 49ers have $19,007,494, but not all of the 43 players will make the 2022 roster, thus they won’t all be signed for 2023.

But let’s take a look at all 43 players currently signed for 2023, along with their salary cap numbers.

1. LT Trent Williams(2026)- $26,270,000
2. DT Arik Armstead(2024)- $24,346,000
3. MLB Fred Warner(2026)- $18,525,000
4. TE George Kittle(2025)- $18,383,000
5. DE Nick Bosa(2023)- $17,869,000
6. CB Charvarius Ward(2024)- $16,405,000
7. QB Trey Lance(2024)- $9,301,434
8. FB Kyle Juszycyzk(2025)- $6,588,750
9. DT Javon Kinlaw(2023)- $4,928,223
10. WR Brandon Aiyuk(2023)- $3,987,248
11. MLB Oren Burks(2023)- $2,773,000
12. WR/KR/PR Ray-Ray McCloud(2023)- $2,090,000
13. LG Aaron Banks(2024)- $1,929,166
14. SS George Odum(2024)- $1,840,000
15. DE Drake Jackson(2025)- $1,339,180
16. RB Trey Sermon(2024)- $1,328,982
17. CB Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,305,232
18. RB Tyrion Davis-Price(2025)- $1,161,033
19. WR Danny Gray(2025)- $1,146,569
20. TE Charlie Woerner(2023)- $1,055,258
21. RT Spencer Burford(2025)- $1,038,014
22. RG Jaylon Moore(2024)- $1,020,759
23. CB Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $1,011,217
24. SS Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $1,000,038
25. RB Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $985,893
26. CB Samuel Womack(2025)- $940,831
27. LG Nick Zakelj(2025)- $917,590
28. NT Kalia Davis(2025)- $903,003
29. CB Tariq Castro-Fields(2025)- $903,003
30. QB Brock Purdy(2025)- $889,253
31. WLB Jeremiah Gemmel(2024)- $876,666
32. SLB Marcelino McCrary-Ball(2024)- $876,666
33. C Dohnovan West(2024)- $875,000
34. SS Leon O’Neal(2024)- $873,333
35. C Jason Poe(2024)- $873,333
36. RB Jordan Mason(2024)- $873,333
37. FS Tayler Hawkins(2024)- $873,333
38. WR Tay Martin(2024)- $872,833
39. CB Qwuantrezz Knight(2024)- $872,000
40. DT Kevin Atkins(2024)- $871,666
41. LT Sam Schlueter(2024)- $871,666
42. WLB Segun Olubi(2024)- $871,000
43. WR Taysir Mack(2024)- $870,000

Now, if the 49ers don’t reach a contract extension with Deebo Samuel, then they will most definitely franchise tag him, which, according to OverTheCap.com, will cost $19.985 million, and if the team can’t reach a new deal in 2023, then in 2024 they can tag him again, which would be for a 120% of his 2023 franchise tag number, something that the 49ers really don’t want to do, but will if it means keeping their most dynamic playmaker on the team.

As far as Nick Bosa goes, with training camp set to begin in under a month, the team would be wise to get a deal done with him, in which they’d take his training camp roster bonus, turn it into a signing bonus, and add some of the current $4.084 million to secure Bosa to a long term deal, averaging in the $32 million a year range, with over $100 million guaranteed.

If the team can get Deebo Samuel to rescind his trade request, and sign a new deal, I’d expect it to be in the $26 million a year range, with over $65 million in guaranteed money, maybe as much as $75 million guaranteed.

So, there you have it, a look at the 49ers 2022 & 2023 cap situations, along with my camp battles, so buckle up, because soon enough we will have 49ers football back.

As always, thank you for reading, leave a comment, or follow me on Twitter @49erscap.

About Author

Jason Hurley

Die Hard 49ers fan from New York, been covering the 49ers salary cap since 2005, with several different websites, including NinersNation.com, & the now defunct NinerCapHell, I have a track record of being as accurate as possible, I try to be as thorough as possible, and you can find me on X/Twitter @49erscap, & on Blue Sky App @49erscap.bsky.social.

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