Coming off another disappointing playoff loss, including their second defeat in five years to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers are entering free agency looking to find players who can finally get them over the hump.
Speaking to reporters about the offseason, head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed how the team will approach looking to improve its roster for the 2024 season:
“You look at (every option) every single year and you try to become the best team possible with the situation that you’re in. You don’t just say, ‘Hey, we’re upgrading here this year.’ You’ve got to make sure that’s available. And if it’s not, then you get stronger in a different area. There’s lots of ways you can win. You just have to keep trying to find that way.”
There’s been a lot of buzz around the 49ers as far as potential trades this offseason. They will have to make some moves to create cap space, as they are currently $3.4 million over the salary cap.
Brandon Aiyuk has been the most-talked about potential trade candidate, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted the 49ers are expected to work on a contract extension with the star wide receiver after free agency.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano noted Aiyuk is still considered a trade candidate if the 49ers can’t work out a long-term deal with him.
The Niners have been aggressive players in free agency in recent years. They made bold moves to sign Charvarius Ward after the 2021 season and Javon Hargrave after the 2022 season.
Combine those contracts with big-money extensions that have been handed out to players like Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel and Arik Armstead in recent years, the 49ers have seven players counting at least $15 million against the 2024 cap.
It would seem unlikely Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will be major players in free agency, but that was also an assumption last year before they struck a deal with Hargrave.
The two areas the 49ers presumably want to address this offseason are the offensive and defensive lines. Williams is the one steady player they have on the offensive line. It could be argued the biggest reason they lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 was because of protection issues late in the game.
San Francisco’s defensive line, which has long been the strength of the entire defense, wasn’t as dominant in 2023 as it was in previous years. The losses of Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu in free agency last offseason left a void the team struggled to fill.
Randy Gregory and Chase Young were bought
during the season to provide a boost. They had some solid individual moments, but lacked game-to-game consistency.
Armstead struggled with injuries for the second straight year before revealing he played through the postseason with a torn meniscus that required offseason surgery.
There are still a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the 49ers going into the 2024 season, but they have plenty of work to do if they want to get back to the Super Bowl and finally win the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.
