With the emergence of both Deebo Samuel, & Brandon Aiyuk, some may ask, can the 49ers keep both long term? Well, I\u2019ll answer that question in this article, along with taking a look at the 49ers 2023 salary cap outlook.<\/p>\n
We all know that the 49ers will extend both Deebo Samuel, & Nick Bosa this offseason, as they\u2019ve said that they\u2019ve budgeted for both players.<\/p>\n
Deebo will most likely get north of $20 million a year, while Bosa will get north of $30 million a year, but some may say that the 49ers won\u2019t be able to retain free agents like Laken Tomlinson, Arden Key, Jordan Willis, D.J. Jones, & K\u2019Waun Williams due to the tight salary cap, plus the pending extensions as I said for Deebo & Bosa, along with extending Brandon Aiyuk when he becomes eligible after the 2022 season.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve been saying for the longest time, what I would do to extend Deebo, & Nick, is to turn Deebo\u2019s $3.936 million base salary into a signing bonus by lowering it down to minimum of $965,000, which wouldn\u2019t increase his cap number by that much.<\/p>\n
As for Bosa, I\u2019d take his $4,305,225 training camp roster bonus, turn that into a signing bonus, so Bosa\u2019s 2022 cap number would either stay the same, or go up a little bit.<\/p>\n
As for a potential deal for Aiyuk, if he has another year like he did this season, I\u2019d expect the 49ers to give Aiyuk north of $18 million a year, with them using some 2023 cap room, while also lowering his base salary to the league minimum.<\/p>\n
With the 2022 salary cap set to be $208.2 million, & the 49ers moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo, which will save the team $24.725 million, when you factor in the top 51 rule, while they\u2019ll net a little over $12.26 million, this assumes that the 49ers tender their 5 ERFAs(JaMycal Hasty, Jauan Jennings, Colton McKivitz, Kevin Givens, & Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles), & bring back their 3 RFAs(Daniel Brunskill, Kentavius Street, & Azeez Al-Shaair) on deals that are in the $1.3 million each, with Al-Shaair\u2019s being a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n
So, by moving on from Garoppolo, while they only net that $12.26 million, the fact that the 49ers have a quarterback on a rookie deal, and the salary cap expected to rise each year, especially by 2024, as the new NFL TV deals kick in for the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
The 49ers can also create cap room by releasing or getting Samson Ebukam to take a pay cut, & by restructuring the likes of George Kittle, Arik Armstead, Mike McGlinchey, & Jimmie Ward\u2019s contracts, with Ward being a potential extension candidate, as his contract voids after the 2022 season, leaving $6.395 million in dead money for 2023.<\/p>\n
Now I want to take a look at 2023\u2019s salary cap, which is projected to be between $225 million to $238 million, with just 17 players signed for 2023, before any 2021 draft picks, re-signings, or extensions, they have an estimated $65,860,801 in cap room, but that includes enough players making the rookie minimum of $750,000 in 2023 for when the top 51 kicks in.<\/p>\n
When looking at the 2023 salary cap, the only real potential cap casualty could be Alex Mack, that\u2019s if the 49ers find a suitable replacement, if his play starts to fall off, or he decided to retire, which would save the team $3.1 million after factoring in a player making $750,000 takes his place on the top 51.<\/p>\n
As far as who\u2019s not signed for 2023, or the key pending 2023 free agents, they are as follows.<\/p>\n
Note, I\u2019m not going to include Deebo Samuel, as he\u2019s a lock to be extended in my opinion.<\/p>\n
UFA:<\/strong><\/p>\n RT Mike McGlinchey Those 6 players are the only key players not signed for 2023, that are under contract for the 2022 season, while I didn\u2019t include the following, as they\u2019re either ERFAs or RFAs in 2023, meaning they\u2019ll be back.<\/p>\n RFA:<\/strong><\/p>\n RB JaMycal Hasty ERFA:<\/strong><\/p>\n WR Jauan Jennings<\/p>\n Also, a note on Jauan Jennings, is the fact that he won\u2019t be a unrestricted free agent until the 2025, as he\u2019ll be a restricted free agent in 2024, which pretty much makes him under team control through the 2024 season.<\/p>\n So, when I look at the 2023 offseason, as it stands now, I only see 2, maybe 3, must re-signs, those being Dre Greenlaw, & Jimmie Ward, while the other potential is Emmanuel Moseley, but a lot will depend on how the 2022 season plays out, especially for Samson Ebukam, if he\u2019s still on the roster, Mike McGlinchey, & Charles Omenihu.<\/p>\n Two more reasons as to why the 49ers can retain Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa, & Brandon Aiyuk, along with George Kittle, Trent Williams, Arik Armstead, & Fred Warner all on big money contracts, is the fact that the 49ers don\u2019t have 1st-round picks in the next 2 drafts, which will help long term, and the fact that they don\u2019t have many must re-sign pending free agents over the next 2 or so years.<\/p>\n Of course, not every player can come back, or be retained, or may even want to re-sign with the 49ers, but the team has a solid set of core players, as well as a lot of young talent, which will help them stay competitive for a long time.<\/p>\n So by 2023, the 49ers key core of players will, in my opinion, be quarterback Trey Lance, running backs Elijah Mitchell, & Trey Sermon, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, wide receivers Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, & Jauan Jennings, tight ends George Kittle, & Charlie Woerner, left guards Laken Tomlinson, & Colton McKivitz, right guard Aaron Banks, left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Jaylon Moore, defensive ends Nick Bosa, Arden Key, Jordan Willis, defensive tackles Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, & Kevin Givens, nose tackle D.J. Jones, weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, middle linebacker Fred Warner, strongside linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, cornerbacks Emmanuel Moseley, Ambry Thomas, K\u2019Waun Williams, & Deommodore Lenoir, free safety Jimmie Ward, & strong safety Talanoa Hufanga, plus whoever they draft in the 2022, & 2023 drafts, so this team should be loaded for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Now the players who are up in the air are center Alex Mack, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, & defensive ends Samson Ebukam, & Charles Omenihu.<\/p>\n I believe, as many 49er fans do, that the 49ers got a steal when they sent a 2023 6th-round pick to the Houston Texans to acquire Omenihu, as he has a lot of upside, but the team will need to add some young EDGE rushers to the team by 2023, especially a speedy EDGE to go opposite Nick Bosa.<\/p>\n So, in conclusion, the answer is YES, the 49ers can afford to retain the likes of Laken Tomlinson, Arden Key, Jordan Willis, D.J. Jones, & K\u2019Waun Williams on new multi-year deals, along with extending Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, & Brandon Aiyuk, while also having George Kittle, Trent Williams, Arik Armstead, & Fred Warner on big money contracts.<\/p>\n
\nDE Samson Ebukam
\nDE Charles Omenihu
\nWLB Dre Greenlaw
\nCB Emmanuel Moseley
\nFS Jimmie Ward<\/p>\n
\nLG Colton McKivitz
\nDT Kevin Givens
\nSLB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles<\/p>\n