Five 49ers Poised for a Make-or-Break Year in 2015
The San Francisco 49ers have entered a crossroads during the 2015 offseason.
Significant transactions, additions and subtractions have altered the 49ers' approach to their forthcoming season. It has been a turbulent offseason, which will put increasing pressure on the players suiting up when the regular season starts.
As such, 2015 may easily be a make-or-break year for some notable 49ers players.
Depth, performance and cap constraints all factor into the long-term ramifications for the team. Determining who stays and who goes will ride on these ever-important factors.
Some players will be given increased opportunity. The retirements of linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland open up the door for players like linebacker Michael Wilhoite to enjoy a solidified role.
Yet the signings of wide receivers Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson might hinder the chances for third-year pro wideout Quinton Patton to remain with the 49ers beyond this season.
So who is in danger of being on the chopping block in 2015?
Let's try to answer that.
Linebacker Corey Lemonier
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2014 was supposed to be the season in which outside linebacker Corey Lemonier proved to be the outstanding pass-rusher who could adequately back up Aldon Smith.
Yet the former third-round selection of the 49ers in 2013 did not deliver as promised.
The 49ers were in desperate need of pass-rushing help at the beginning of the season, with Smith serving a nine-game suspension for off-the-field issues. But Lemonier failed to contribute at a level sufficient enough to warrant a starting role in Smith's stead.
To date, Lemonier has just 19 tackles and one sack over 32 games played.
San Francisco's defense was able to overcome the underwhelming performance. Fellow linebackers Dan Skuta, Ahmad Brooks and rookie Aaron Lynch picked up the slack in Smith's absence.
But Skuta has departed via free agency, and Brooks could easily be a cap casualty, per Nick Mensio of Rotoworld.com (h/t Yahoo Sports).
Such a possibility may place even more pressure on Lemonier to deliver behind Lynch and Smith in 2015.
Bleacher Report's Joey Levitt describes what must happen this upcoming season:
"Coming back full circle to the topic at hand, Lemonier must do one of two things.
Depending on his psychological inclinations, he must either use that colossal disaster of a 2014 campaign as motivation for this season or just simply forget it ever happened. And whichever stimulating approach he chooses, it had better translate into production on the field.
"
"Oh, #49ers linebackers...| Breaking Down Corey Lemonier's Renewed Importance to 49ers' LB Corps http://t.co/1PwU3W8wNq via @bleacherreport
— Joey Levitt (@jlevitt16) March 13, 2015"
Lemonier is signed through 2016 with a total cap hit of $820,880 that year.
Wide Receiver Quinton Patton
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Third-year pro wideout Quinton Patton has played in a total of 10 NFL games since being selected in Round 4 of the 2013 draft.
Patton's rookie season was hampered by a foot injury, but his relative absence the subsequent year speaks more to him being on the watch list moving forward. He played in just four games last season and hauled in a mere three receptions for 44 yards.
Granted, there was a bit of a logjam at wide receiver a year ago. Veterans like wide receivers Brandon Lloyd and Stevie Johnson took away potential snaps from Patton.
Johnson has since been cut, and Lloyd and former No. 1 wideout Michael Crabtree could also depart via free agency.
Had that been the end of San Francisco's transactions this offseason, Patton could have easily found a legitimate role entering 2015. Yet the 49ers subsequently signed free-agent wide receivers Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson.
Patton is once again thrust back down the depth chart.
He'll likely be in direct competition with wideouts such as Simpson and Bruce Ellington for the No. 3 receiver position. Simpson's off-the-field concerns could affect this position battle in training camp, but it's safe to assume that Patton will need to show his best in order to remain with the team in 2015 and beyond.
And things could get even more competitive if San Francisco targets another wideout in the upcoming draft.
Patton is signed through 2016 with a total cap hit of $772,875 that year.
Tight End Vance McDonald
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San Francisco's situation at tight end is about as uncertain as it could be heading into 2015.
For starters, No. 1 tight end Vernon Davis is coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued year. There are no guarantees he'll bounce back.
But his backup Vance McDonald has not exactly wowed the masses in his two years with the 49ers.
McDonald has a net total of 10 receptions for 149 yards since being taken in Round 2 of the 2013 draft. He was supposed to be the complementary piece to Davis. Aside from his better-than-average blocking abilities, San Francisco's No. 2 tight end hasn't lived up to expectations.
On a related note, this year's draft class at tight end isn't particularly deep. It would be a bit of a shock to see general manager Trent Baalke take an early flier on a tight end, given some of the team's pressing needs elsewhere.
This gives McDonald a little more security heading into 2015. But the added extensions given to depth tight ends Garrett Celek and Derek Carrier could suggest otherwise, according to Al Sacco of 49ersWebzone.com.
"Two-year extension for Carrier isn't really a good sign for the Vance McDonald era #49ers
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) March 9, 2015"
Davis' age and contractual obligations may have already determined his future with San Francisco. Yet the 49ers should be closely monitoring McDonald's contributions this season to determine whether or not the former second-round has emerged as a bust.
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Linebacker Aldon Smith
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One of the more notable names on this make-or-break list is outside linebacker Aldon Smith.
This has already been evidenced by San Francisco's efforts to rework his contract in 2015—aspects of which are described further by NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com).
Smith's new deal gives the 49ers much more flexibility in parting ways with the four-year veteran.
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk, San Francisco was prepared to release Smith if he didn't accept the revised deal.
"From the great @FieldYates, the breakdown of Aldon Smith's re-worked contract with #49ers: pic.twitter.com/Fo4AkTEuik
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) March 7, 2015"
The 49ers' efforts here make some sense.
For starters, Smith still comes with plenty of off-the-field concerns despite having served his nine-game suspension a year ago.
On top of that, much of his performance has been based around veteran defensive end Justin Smith. Aldon Smith did not exactly display the pass-rushing prowess in 2014 compared to previous campaigns—he had just two sacks in seven games played a year ago—which also calls into question whether or not the 49ers will want to re-sign him.
This is even more dependent upon whether or not Justin Smith retires—a possibility that could still happen, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick
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Quarterback Colin Kaepernick's contract extension prior to the 2014 season suggested that the 49ers had nearly 100 percent confidence in their signal-caller moving forward.
But the various "outs" worked into the deal also hinted at the possibility that San Francisco might entertain other options should his progression slow or halt completely.
2014 proved to be more than a setback for Kaepernick, which called into question whether or not the 49ers would be comfortable with him moving forward.
Kaepernick's base salary is $10.4 million in 2015. That number will increase to $11.9 million in 2016 before rising to $14.5 million the year after.
But the numerous loopholes worked into the contract led to a rumor that Kaepernick was on the trading block during the offseason, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Newly acquired defensive tackle Darnell Dockett weighed in on the possibility in a tweet on March 9 (h/t Taylor Price of 49ers.com).
"💪😼 RT @AdamSchefter: Well-placed 49ers official on report that SF is seeking to trade QB Colin @Kaepernick7 : "Totally false. 0% truth..
— DARNELL DOCKETT (@ddockett) March 9, 2015"
"Colin is our quarterback and we are excited to have him," general manager Trent Baalke said, via Price. "He is not going anywhere. The media reports suggesting otherwise are without merit and quite frankly ridiculous."
As such, Kaepernick's performance in 2015 could be the make-or-break element that determines whether or not San Francisco continues having faith in its starting quarterback beyond this season.
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated. Contractual information courtesy of OverTheCap.com unless notified otherwise.
Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers news, insight and analysis.
Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.
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