San Francisco 49ers Free-Agency Tracker: Updated Signings, Rumors and Grades
The San Francisco 49ers weren’t supposed to have much cap space this offseason, but things may have changed.
According to Pro Football Talk, the 49ers expect Patrick Willis and Justin Smith to retire. If they do, the 49ers would save $11,674,500 of cap space according to Spotrac. That means the Niners would have $22,120,391 of total cap space in 2015, according to Niners Nation.
That’s the first thing you need to know.
And here is everything you need to know. This is a running tracker of the moves the 49ers make in free agency, plus rumors, grades and analysis.
Who's in
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The 49ers have signed, tendered or agreed to terms with the following players:
WR Torrey Smith—five years; $40 million.
DT Darnell Dockett—two years, $7.5 million.
WR Jerome Simpson—two years, $1.73 million.
TE Derek Carrier—three years, $2.985 million.
S Craig Dahl—one year, $1.3 million.
KR Jarryd Hayne—three years, $1.583 million.
ILB Michael Wilhoite—ERFA tender, $660,000.
DT Tony Jerod-Eddie—ERFA tender, $585,000.
QB Blaine Gabbert—two years; $2 million.
OT/G Erik Pears—terms unknown.
RB Reggie Bush—terms unknown.
CB Shareece Wright—one year; $ 4 million.
CB Chris Cook—Terms not yet known.
Who's out
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The following players have signed contracts with other teams or have retired:
LB Chris Borland—Retired with three seasons left on his rookie contract.
G Mike Iupati—Unrestricted free agent. New team: Arizona Cardinals; five-year deal, $40 million, $22.5 million guaranteed.
DT Justin Smith—Retired with two years and $17.031 million remaining on his contract.
LB Patrick Willis—Retired with one year and $4.05 million remaining on his contract.
S Raymond Ventrone—Unrestricted free agent. New team: New England Patriots as an assistant special-teams coach.
OLB Dan Skuta—Unrestricted free agent. New team: Jacksonville Jaguars; five-year deal, $20.5 million.
RB Frank Gore—Unrestricted free agent. New team: Indianapolis Colts; three-year deal, $12 million, $7.5 million guaranteed.
WR Stevie Johnson—Released with one year, $6.025 million remaining on his contract.
CB Chris Culliver—Unrestricted free agent. New team: Washington Redskins; four-year deal, $32 million.
CB Perrish Cox—Unrestricted free agent. New team: Tennessee Titans; three-year deal, $15 million.
OT Jonathan Martin—Released with one year, $1.042 million remaining on his contract.
Rumors and Reports
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Here is a complete list of the 49ers' transactions and rumors.
March 26: The 49ers officially announce they have waived offensive tackle Jonathan Martin. Erik Pears most likely will take Martin's place as the 49ers' backup swing tackle.
March 16: Twenty-four year old Chris Borland retires, according to ESPN Outside the Lines. Inside linebacker just became a pressing need for the 49ers.
March 14: The 49ers have re-signed cornerback Chris Cook, according to Aaron Wilson. Cook probably will back up Shareece Wright.
March 14: The 49ers announce they've signed cornerback Shareece Wright to a one-year deal. It is worth $4 million, according to Michael Gehlkin.
March 14: Perrish Cox signs a three-year, $15 million contract with the Tennessee Titans, per Ian Rapoport. The 28-year-old cornerback has earned "just" $2.5 million in his career so far, according to Spotrac.
March 14: Reggie Bush agrees to terms with the 49ers, according to Adam Schefter. Terms of the deal are not yet known.
March 14: The 49ers reach a contract agreement with former Buffalo Bills OT/G Erik Pears, according to Mike Jurecki. Terms of the contract are not yet known.
March 13: Forget that Harvin rumor. Harvin signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Buffalo Bills, per Ian Rapoport.
March 13: The 49ers might be making an attempt to sign Percy Harvin, according to Dianna Marie Russini. Harvin had the worst season of his career in 2014, but he still is only 26-years old.
March 13: Former San Diego Charger cornerback Shareece Wright is visiting the 49ers today, according to Ian Rapoport. Wright could be a cheaper version of Perrish Cox. Both guys are 5'11", and each runs a 4.56 40-yard dash, according to NFL Draft Scout.
March 13: Chris Culliver signs a four-year deal with the Washington Redskins, according to Ian Rapoport. Culliver’s deal is worth $32 million, per Rand Getlin.
March 11: The 49ers release wide receiver Stevie Johnson, per Dianna Marie Russini. Johnson had one year and $6.025 million left on his deal.
March 11: The 49ers will meet with free agent running back Reggie Bush this afternoon, according to Matt Maiocco. The Lions chose to cut Bush rather than pay him $1.7 million.
March 11: Stevie Johnson refused a pay cut, so the 49ers will release him if Torrey Smith passes his physical today, according to Ian Rapoport. Jerome Simpson takes Johnson's place as the Niners' No.3 receiver.
March 10: The 49ers sign quarterback Blaine Gabbert to a two-year, $2-million contract, according to Chris Mortensen. Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick are the only quarterbacks under contract for the 49ers.
March 10: Reggie Bush is choosing between the 49ers, Patriots and Saints, according to Ian Rapoport. Bush is 30. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per catch in 2014.
March 10: Torrey Smith signs a five-year, $40 million contract with $22.5 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter. Smith was the 49ers’ first signing of the new league year.
March 10: Mike Iupati signs with the Arizona Cardinals for five years and $40 million with $22.5 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter.
March 10: Frank Gore is expected to sign a 3-year, $12-million deal with the Indianapolis Colts, according to Adam Schefter. The Eagles offered Gore a similar contract.
March 10: The 49ers officially announce Patrick Willis' retirement. Willis has a press conference scheduled for noon.
March 10: Dan Skuta is expected to sign a 5-year, $20.5-million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to Matt Maiocco. Skuta was a standout backup outside linebacker and special-teams player for the Niners last season. Now, he’ll most likely start for Jacksonville.
March 9: According to Adam Schefter, Frank Gore has second thoughts about signing with the Philadelphia Eagles and is considering signing with the Indianapolis Colts instead. On March 8, Schefter had reported Gore was expected to sign a 3-year deal with the Eagles.
March 9: The 49ers are seriously interested in signing free agent defensive end Greg Hardy, according to Jason Cole. The 26-year-old pass-rusher had 15 sacks in 2013. The Panthers deactivated Hardy for 15 games in 2014 while he was on trial for domestic assault. The charges were dropped on February 9, 2015.
March 9: The 49ers agree to a new contract with tight end Derek Carrier. The contract is worth $2.985 million over three years. Carrier can earn more than $4 million if he fulfills the escalators in his contract, according to Tom Pelissero.
March 9: Craig Dahl restructures his deal and agrees to $400,000 pay cut, according to CSN Bay Area. He now has one year and $1.3 million left on his contract. Dahl is a special-teams specialist.
March 9: The 49ers expect Patrick Willis and Justin Smith to announce their retirement soon, according to Pro Football Talk. Neither player has officially announced his retirement yet. Smith told the Sacramento Bee he will make his final decision next week.
March 8: The 49ers are listening to trade offers for Colin Kaepernick according to Jayson Braddock of KBME SportsTalk 790 in Houston. 49ers’ general manager Trent Baalke released a statement insisting Braddock’s report is false and Kaepernick “is not going anywhere.”
March 8: The Baltimore Sun reports Torrey Smith almost certainly will sign with the 49ers. No official announcement has been made. No word on whether the rumors surrounding Kaepernick could make Smith change his mind.
March 6: According to Yahoo! Sports, the 49ers are interested in running back C.J. Spiller. So are the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
March 6: The 49ers tender exclusive-rights free agents DT Tony Jerod-Eddie and ILB Michael Wilhoite. The 49ers control them for the rest of the year.
March 5: The 49ers announce they have agreed to terms with former Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett on a two-year, $7.5 million contract.
March 5: The 49ers announce they have signed former Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson to a two-year contract. Simpson did not play football in 2014.
March 2: The 49ers sign former Rugby League star Jarryd Hayne to a three-year contract worth $1.583 million, according to Aaron Wilson. Only $115,100 is guaranteed. Hayne will return kicks for the 49ers.
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49ers Sign DT Darnell Dockett
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Few understood how important the Docket signing was when it happened.
Most thought the 49ers signed Dockett to replace Ray McDonald. Actually, it seems they signed him to replace one of the greatest 49ers ever, Justin Smith.
Smith may retire. If he does, Darnell Dockett will become the 49ers’ starting 3-technique, meaning he would play next to Aldon Smith and in front of NaVorro Bowman. Justin Smith made those two players better. Can Dockett make them better?
Dockett isn’t half the run defender Justin was, but Dockett can rush the passer and the 49ers need pass-rushers.
Grade: A.
49ers Sign WR Jerome Simpson
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Jerome Simpson isn’t bad.
The 29-year-old wide receiver didn’t play football in 2014, but in 2013 he caught 48 passes for 726 yards. Compare those numbers to Torrey Smith’s numbers in 2014.
Smith seems to be the 49ers’ top free-agent target. In 2014, he caught 49 passes for 767 yards—one more catch and 41 more yards than Simpson amassed in 2013.
Simpson may not make the 49ers’ final roster—the Niners very well may replace him with a wide receiver in the draft. But if the 49ers can’t replace him, Simpson would make a decent third banana.
Grade: B.
49ers Sign KR Jarryd Hayne
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Jarryd Hayne is a great athlete. He’s already one of the most athletic players on the Niners. Can he play football?
Rugby and football are similar and different. They both involve hitting and tackling, but rugby players don’t wear pads or helmets. They protect their bodies and their skulls.
Football players frequently lead with their helmets. Running backs do it all the time. So do kick returners. Football players are human torpedoes.
Hayne will be one heck of a signing if he turns into a human torpedo in the next few years.
Grade: A.
49ers Lose G Mike Iupati
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The 49ers did the right thing letting Mike Iupati go.
Iupati intends to sign with the Arizona Cardinals, according to Adam Schefter. Losing Iupati will hurt the 49ers’ offensive line and running game. But he wasn’t worth re-signing.
Iupati always has been a poor pass protector. Now he doesn’t move well, either. He used to be a great left guard, but now he’s better suited to play right guard.
Let the Cardinals pay for what Iupati used to be. The 49ers don’t pay big money for veteran guards, anyway. The 49ers draft guards. They drafted guard Brandon Thomas last year in the third round. They could draft another guard in the first few rounds this year.
Goodbye, Mike.
Grade: A.
49ers Lose OLB Dan Skuta
8 of 17
The 49ers can’t afford to pay what the Jaguars reportedly will pay for Skuta.
According to Matt Maiocco, the Jaguars will give Skuta a five-year, $20.5-million contract—starter’s money. Skuta would not have been a starter on the 49ers because Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch are the Niners’ starting outside linebackers.
But Skuta would have been a key player for the Niners. Skuta is a terrific special-teams player and a terrific backup outside linebacker who can stop the run and rush the quarterback. Last season, Skuta outplayed former Pro Bowler Ahmad Brooks. The Jaguars apparently noticed.
The 49ers most likely will cut Brooks after June 1—he’s too expensive to sit on the 49ers’ bench.
Don’t be surprised if the 49ers take an outside linebacker in the first few rounds of the upcoming draft. They need to replace Skuta.
Grade: C.
49ers Lose RB Frank Gore
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Frank Gore turns 32 in May. For some reason, the Indianapolis Colts just gave him a three-year contract.
That’s great news for the 49ers. They were under tremendous pressure from their fan base to re-sign Gore, one of the greatest 49ers ever. But he’s 32. Re-signing a 32-year-old running back to a three-year contract is never smart. Never.
Instead of spending $12 million on Gore, the 49ers can spend that money on a replacement for Patrick Willis, someone who can sub in for Chris Borland on passing downs and cover tight ends and running backs man to man.
Or, the 49ers can spend part of the $12 million on an outside linebacker to replace Dan Skuta.
Or, the 49ers can spend part of the $12 million on a younger running back. The 49ers need another running back now that Gore is gone.
Grade: A.
49ers Sign WR Torrey Smith
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The 49ers finally have a deep threat.
Last year, the 49ers had a trio of possession receivers—Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and Stevie Johnson. They didn’t complement each other, and they didn’t complement Colin Kaepernick’s arm, one of the strongest in the NFL.
Exit Michael Crabtree. Enter Torrey Smith.
Torrey Smith and Boldin have played together before. They started on the Baltimore Ravens in 2011 and 2012, and they worked in harmony.
Smith is so fast he forces opposing safeties to play deep, which creates space for Anquan Boldin underneath.
The past two seasons, opposing defenses would crowd the line of scrimmage to take away the 49ers’ power running game. The safeties didn’t respect the speed of the Niners’ wide receivers.
Safeties have to respect Smith.
Grade: A.
49ers Sign QB Blaine Gabbert
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According to Chris Mortensen, the 49ers gave Blaine Gabbert a two-year extension worth $2 million.
Seriously?
Here are Gabbert’s 2014 preseason stats, courtesy of Pro Football Focus: 46.8 completion percentage, 4.0 yards per attempt, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks and a passer rating of 54.0.
Those numbers aren’t much worse than his career numbers: 53.2 completion percentage, 5.6 yards per attempt, 23 touchdowns, 24 interceptions, 66.8 passer rating.
It’s astounding Gabbert has lasted this long in the NFL with numbers like that. Clearly, there’s a serious shortage of good quarterbacks, especially this year, when there’s a weak crop of free-agent quarterbacks and a weak crop of quarterbacks in the draft.
Gabbert knows the 49ers’ system, which gives him a leg up.
Still, Tyrod Taylor is a much better quarterback than Gabbert. Taylor’s passer rating was 85.1 last year in the preseason according to Pro Football Focus. The 49ers should have signed Taylor instead.
Grade: D.
49ers Release WR Stevie Johnson
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Anquan Boldin spoke with Bay Area reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. One reporter asked Boldin if he and Johnson and Michael Crabtree were too similar to complement each other. Here’s what Boldin said, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.
“You had a bunch of guys in the same mode, guys that are route runners underneath and get yards after the catch—those type of guys. Myself, Crab and Stevie—we’re all in that mode.”
The 49ers need just one wide receiver in that mode, and Boldin is the best one, so Johnson had to go. Johnson would be a good addition to a team that needs a slot receiver who works the underneath routes. The 49ers are not that team. Jerome Simpson is a much better fit as the 49ers’ No.3 receiver. He’s cheap and he can stretch the field, unlike Johnson.
Grade: A.
49ers Lose CB Chris Culliver
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49ers’ general manager Trent Baalke sat down with six beat writers and me this past Wednesday in the 49ers’ media room. CSN Bay Area reporter Matt Maiocco asked Baalke if he plans to sign an expensive free agent now the 49ers have $14.9 in cap space, according to Spotrac.
Baalke frowned. “Just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re going to spend it foolishly.”
He might as well have been talking specifically about re-signing free agent cornerback Chris Culliver.
Re-signing Culliver would have qualified as spending foolishly. The Redskins signed him to a four-year, $32-million contract, per Rand Getlin. That’s too much money to spend on a cornerback who can’t defend the deep throw or the back-shoulder fade.
The 49ers can find an inexpensive upgrade over Culliver in the second round of the upcoming draft.
Grade: A.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted
49ers Sign OG/T Erik Pears
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The 49ers need an upgrade at guard and swing tackle.
Erik Pears is a guard and a swing tackle, but he may not be an upgrade at either position of the 49ers.
Pears was the third-lowest-graded guard in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Focus. They gave him a -25.1 grade.
Pears might be more suited to play tackle. In 2013, he played right tackle for the Bills and Pro Football Focus gave him a -8.4 grade, slightly better than the -10.4 grade Pro Football Focus gave the 49ers’ swing tackle, Jonathan Martin, in 2014.
Signing Pears makes Martin expendable. Cutting him would free up $1.04 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
But the 49ers still need upgrades at swing tackle and guard. Stanford offensive lineman Andrus Peat qualifies as an upgrade at positions. The 49ers should not hesitate to draft him if he’s available at the 15th pick.
Grade: C.
49ers Sign RB Reggie Bush
15 of 17
The 49ers had one of the slowest offenses in the NFL last season.
This offseason, they wanted to add speed. First, they signed Torrey Smith. Then, they were interested in C.J. Spiller, Percy Harvin and Reggie Bush, and they wound up with Bush. The terms of the deal are not yet known.
Bush basically is Kendall-Hunter insurance. Hunter has been the 49ers’ change-of-pace running back since they drafted him 2011, and he’s a good change-of-pace back. He has averaged 4.6 yards per carry in his career. Bush has averaged 4.3.
But Hunter gets hurt. He tore his ACL during training camp in 2014, and he tore his Achilles tendon in 2012.
The 49ers can’t depend on him to stay healthy. Now, they don’t have to. Bush is a capable change-of-pace back. He’s a pretty good receiver, too. He has made 466 catches in his career. Hunter has made just 27.
The 49ers are a power-running team with one power runner—Carlos Hyde—and two scat backs—Bush and Hunter. Look for the Niners to draft another power runner in May.
Grade: B.
49ers Lose CB Perrish Cox
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Perrish Cox started last season on a tear.
I saw him pick off Colin Kaepernick three or four times during training camp. Cox was a step ahead of the other cornerbacks during offseason practices.
Then, Cox intercepted three passes during the first five games of the season. He even shut down Jeremy Maclin Week 5. Maclin finished the game with just four catches on 15 targets.
But during the final 10 regular season games of 2014, opposing offenses figured out Cox. He gave up a passer rating of 103.4 during those 10 games, per Pro Football Focus.
Still, Cox finished the season with five interceptions, which is a big reason the Tennessee Titans gave him a three-year, $15-million contract.
Cox is not worth that much money. Not even close. The 49ers can get a better cornerback for the veteran minimum.
Grade: A.
49ers Sign CB Shareece Wright
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Shareece Wright ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2011, according to NFL Draft Scout.
Wright replaces Perrish Cox, who ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at his Pro Day in 2011, according to NFL Draft Scout.
Wright and Cox practically are the same athlete.
Playing on the 49ers’ excellent defense made Cox seem better than he is. In fact, he is no better than Wright. He might be worse.
He’s definitely more expensive. The Tennessee Titans gave Cox a three-year contract worth $5 million per season. The 49ers gave Wright a one-year, $ 4-million deal.
The 49ers got a better player for a cheaper price.
Wright gives the 49ers a solid starting cornerback to pair with Tramaine Brock next season. With Wright on the roster, the 49ers can spend the 15th pick on a position other than cornerback. The Niners have spent their past three first round picks on defensive backs.
It's time to restock the offense.
Grade: A.
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