San Francisco 49ers Free Agency: 10 Players Left on the Market Who Could Help

As the initial frenzy surrounding the NFL free-agency period in 2012 has subsided, the San Francisco 49ers will stand relatively pat until after this month’s draft.

Trent Baalke fulfilled many of the team’s needs through re-signings and free-agent acquisitions. 

He locked up Dashon Godson with the franchise tag and re-signed Ahmad Brooks and Carlos Rogers, ensuring the return of all 11 starters on defense.

His signings of C.J. Spillman, Tavares Gooden, Tramaine Brock, Will Tukuafu, Perrish Cox, Rock Cartwright and Tedd Ginn fortifies the special teams unit and provides depth for the defense.

Despite narrowly missing out on Peyton Manning, bringing back Alex Smith and acquiring Randy Moss, Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs solidifies the 49ers offense to a large extent.

Baalke successfully tackled this portion of free agency in his predictable, yet laudable fiscally responsible manner. He avoided handcuffing the franchise by offering Mike Wallace a ludicrous contract or overpaying for a versatile, but 75th ranked (out of 77) guard Adam Snyder and newfound Redskin, Joshua Morgan. 

As of the moment, fans (myself included) will miss Snyder, Morgan and especially special-teams ace Blake Costanzo. The additions of Manningham and Cartwright, though, will soon allow us to forget those players and appreciate their upgrades.

The 49ers’ general manager now has roughly $5.3 million under the salary cap dedicated towards signing this year’s draft picks and picking up a couple seasoned players at veterans’ minimum salaries to shore up the offensive line and perhaps provide depth in other areas.

Speaking of which, let's review a handful of available free agents that could assist the 49ers’ endeavors in 2012.

Right Guard

The 49ers have already visited with a few veteran offensive linemen.

Baalke and Harbaugh first worked out Leonard Davis, a 10-year vet and three-time Pro Bowler who sat out last year while with the Lions due to a foot injury. He recently had arthroscopic surgery and should be fully healthy by the month of June. 

The 6’6’’, 375-pound Davis played right guard and both tackle positions for the Cardinals, and was a Pro Bowl right guard for the Cowboys from 2007 through 2009. ProFootballFocus rated him as the 16th-best guard in 2010.

He remains as the most likely to be signed before training camp and I would thoroughly endorse the move. He would provide a valuable presence, competition for Daniel Kilgore and reliable services as a starter or backup.

Regarding the other invitees, the 49ers hosted Deuce Lutui and Jake Brown for workouts.

Lutui, also a guard, played and mostly started for the Cardinals at the right side of the line from 2006 through 2011. PFF neglected to give him such a favorable rating, but he would be a serviceable backup for the 49ers.

The team also worked out former center for the Rams, Jake Brown. He could potentially fill in at right guard or center. 

As for other affordable options, I would take a look at the former Bengal and 23rd-ranked Bobbie Williams. He suffered an ankle injury in December but has otherwise been consistently durable throughout his 11-year career. I predict him being available on the cheap.

It’s a shame that does not also apply to former Titan Jake Scott, a top 10 guard and would-be remarkable upgrade.

Safety

After surveying the free-agent scene, free safeties Deon Grant and Jim Leonhard come to mind.

Grant is a competent defensive back who played behind Antrel Rolle for (surprise!) the New York Giants. He notched 64 tackles, six deflected passes and one sack, fumble recovery and interception.

ESPN rates him as a solid starter (rating of 70), while PFF qualify Rolle as, quite literally, the worst safety in the NFL.

Still a bit of a head scratcher why Grant played the role (pun intended?) of backup.

The 49ers would value his contributions as a depth-providing free safety behind Dashon Goldson and even linebacker if that situation ever arose.

Another option is Jim Leonhard. The former beloved of Rex Ryan remains unsigned and was a top 20 safety in 2011. His hard-hitting tendencies would mesh quite well with Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

In another light, the torn right patellar tendon he suffered in December is a concern.

Defensive Line

Fangio’s squad would welcome, however begrudgingly, some quality backups in 2012.

First-Team All-Pro Justin Smith rarely missed a snap all season and hasn’t missed a game since his rookie year in 2001. The seemingly unconquerable brute could use a breather every now and again.

Same goes for left defensive end Ray McDonald and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga. The former suffered a hamstring injury and missed a game and parts of others (also hobbled in the NFC divisional game against the Saints).

Soap, meanwhile, missed Week 4 against the Bucs due to a staph infection, but returned the very next week against the Browns. In that early-season matchup, though, Ricky Jean-Francois filled in rather capably, so the need for another veteran NT isn’t a significant need.

For the purposes of this article, a couple names to consider at these positions are DE Wallace Gilberry and DT Shaun Rogers.

Gilberry backed up Glenn Dorsey in Kansas City and registered two-and-a-half sacks, two forced fumbles and three deflected passes. The production is there, but the 27-year-old free agent may be out of Baalke’s price range.

Rogers, on the other hand, played right defensive tackle for the Saints and was a bit of a disappointment (only 22 tackles and one deflected pass). Despite the relative positional switch, the 6’4’’, 350-pounder and former stalwart would be a solid big body on the D-line if he reverted back to his previous self.

I foresee him having to accept a minimal salary after earning (or not for that matter) $4 million last season.

I also project the 49ers utilizing the middle rounds of the draft to secure a young-stud lineman. They feel secure with incumbents Jean-Francois, Demarcus Dobbs, Will Tukuafu and Ian Williams as well.

Linebacker

The free-agent pantry is fairly barren for both inside and outside linebackers. It would be wise, however, to infuse these positional areas with depth.

While Baalke will utilize the later rounds of the draft to address these needs, two accomplished veterans are tentatively available.

One is Bradie James and is the only Dallas Cowboy to lead the team in tackles for six consecutive seasons. He is projected to seek opportunities elsewhere.

James would function as a Larry Grant-esque backup if Patrick Willis or Navorro Bowman were ever to miss time this season. In related news, the 49ers placed an original-round tender on Grant, so there is a decent chance at this point in free agency that he stays put in San Francisco, thereby providing even more depth for the team.

Another intriguing linebacker on the market is former Steelers great, James Farrior. He’s certainly not the player he once was, but the 15-year vet can still contribute­—especially in a backup role—though it remains to be seen if the strong-willed ox would be willing to accept that position.

As it stands, the Niners are equipped with Tavares Gooden and (tenuously) Larry Grant as backups to the starting Pro Bowl ILBs. With that said, they’ll surely target an inside guy and outside ‘backer to pair with Parys Haralson come the draft in a few weeks.

Other Considerations

With somewhere in the neighborhood of a million and change to spend on veteran free-agents after locking up draft picks, it’s almost a guarantee that Baalke and company will only target an offensive lineman and perhaps one other position after the draft.

Expect the Niners to favor young over old with regards to the O-line, wide receiver, safety, defensive line and especially running back and cornerback with the draft upcoming and so many needs already addressed.

There is little capital available and we’re all well aware that the 49ers front office builds through the draft and supplements through free agency.

The latter part of that sentence is almost starting to become a cliché, but damn is it effective. Cheers to the 49ers’ bounties secured thus far and the ones surely to come thereafter.