San Francisco 49ers: 5 Potential Cap Casualties During Training Camp

In a league with a strict salary cap, not every roster decision can be based simply on talent on the field.  When you’re talking about filling out the bottom half of a roster, salary-cap discussions have to take place.  While the San Francisco 49ers are in a decent place, salary-cap-wise, they’re no exception to the general rule.  If there’s a situation where they have to decide between two players who have performed roughly equally in the minds of the coaching staff, the tie might go to the cheaper player.

More specifically, the 49ers currently have about $10.9 million in salary-cap room, according to Over the Cap.  That has them 13th in the league or roughly right in the middle.  However, that number is misleading.

Aldon Smith’s restricted contract has roster bonuses.  For every game he is on the roster, he earns $322,150, according to ESPN's Field Yates.  Because Smith missed nine games last season, nine games of that is considered “not likely to be earned”, meaning that $2,899,350 of Smith’s contract does not currently count against the salary cap.  The 49ers will need to keep at least that much room free if Smith is to play all 16 games in 2015. 

The same holds true for the $2 million incentive for playing half of the defensive snaps.  That puts the money the 49ers need to save for Smith at closer to $4.9 million.  They can play with that space for now, but they’ll need to have that room cleared by the end of the season.

That leaves the 49ers with about $6 million of actual salary-cap room, which would put them in the bottom five teams in the league.  They’re not in a desperate cash situation, but they’re definitely more strapped than first glance would indicate.

So, salary-cap decisions might come into play when determining who will and will not make the final 53-man roster.  Here are five players who might have to significantly outperform their competition if they want to remain on the final squad, thanks to their salary situations.

QB Blaine Gabbert

Ben Margot/Associated Press

2015 Cap Hit: $1.75 million
Cap Space Saved if Cut: $1.25 million

Gabbert only appeared in mop-up duty for the 49ers last season, taking some snaps at the end of the blowout loss to the Denver Broncos.  That’s the normal role of the backup; assuming Colin Kaepernick stays upright, Gabbert won’t see the field in any meaningful situation.

When Gabbert did see the field in meaningful situations in Jacksonville, he played very poorly.  The former first-round pick had several nightmare seasons as a Jaguar, completing just 53.3 percent of his passes with more interceptions than touchdowns while compiling a 5-22 record as a starter. 

While 49ers fans are freaking out about Kaepernick’s yards-per-attempt figure dropping to 7.0 in 2014, Gabbert’s career numbers in Jacksonville ended up at only 5.6 yards per attempt.  Kaepernick had a career-worst interception percentage of 2.1 in 2014; Gabbert’s career interception percentage is 3.1 percent.

In short, Gabbert was no good in Jacksonville.  While it’s possible that his time on the bench in San Francisco has allowed him to turn things around somewhat, we have no evidence to go on about that.  He didn’t impress in preseason last year, completing just 46.8 percent of his passes against backup competition.

Gabbert doesn’t have a lot of competition to stick around on the roster.  At the moment, the only real competition is undrafted free agent Dylan Thompson, who has a cannon for an arm but severe footwork and accuracy issues.  In a head-to-head competition, you’d have to like Gabbert for the spot.

However, if the 49ers start feeling the salary-cap crunch, they could go out and sign someone like Michael Vick or Jason Campbell for near the league minimum.  Neither is likely to give much of a different performance than Gabbert would and could end up being significantly cheaper.

Of course, it’s possible a year of sitting and learning has helped Gabbert immensely.  It’s worth watching in preseason.

RB Kendall Hunter

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

2015 Cap Hit: $735,000
Cap Space if Cut: $685,000

Kendall Hunter has had success when healthy.  In his four years on the team, Hunter has carried the ball 262 times for 1,202 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per carry.  He is the leading non-Frank Gore running back in the Frank Gore era, coming out ahead of the likes of Kevan Barlow and Maurice Hicks, though he is actually behind Colin Kaepernick.

The operative phrase, of course, is “when healthy.”  Hunter missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL and tore his Achilles tendon two years ago.  That’s not quite enough to strap him with the “injury prone” label, but his recovery is definitely something to watch out for.

In addition, the 49ers used a fourth-round pick on South Carolina running back Mike Davis, as well as bringing Reggie Bush in in free agency.  If Hunter’s knee isn’t up to snuff, the 49ers might think a Carlos Hyde-Bush-Davis running back trio is acceptable for now.

According to Jim Tomsula, Hunter is “coming along great.”  It’s one thing to look good in shorts in June; however, it's another to have your knee hold up in full-contact games in September.  If Hunter suffers any setbacks in his recovery, the 49ers could get a little more cap room by cutting him loose.  If healthy, he’s pretty much a lock for the roster, but health issues are always worth paying attention to.

WR Jerome Simpson

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

2015 Cap Hit: $795,000
Cap Savings if Cut: $795,000

Behind Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith and Bruce Ellington, the wide receiver depth chart for the 2015 49ers is really up for grabs.  With the possible exception of cornerback, no position on the roster is less settled than the receiver corps.

One of the few veterans battling out for a spot is ex-Bengal and Viking Jerome Simpson.  A deep threat, albeit an inconsistent one, Simpson has 145 career receptions for 2,004 yards, averaging 13.8 yards per reception.

All those numbers were put up between 2008 and 2013, however, because Simpson spent all of 2014 out of football.  Simpson was suspended for three games last season for violating the substance-abuse policy.  Just as he was about to come back, it was revealed that Simpson had more pending marijuana and alcohol-related charges, and the Vikings decided to wash their hands of him, releasing him.

It’s worth noting that Simpson has yet to be punished for his most recent arrest, as the Vikings released him.  Therefore, in addition to his relative expense, the 49ers could see Simpson hit with a suspension.  This would be his third such suspension, having missed time in 2012 for another marijuana-related arrest.

There is plenty of room for a receiver as talented as Simpson can be to make the roster.  However, when you couple in his cost, the potential for a suspension and the continued development of players such as Quinton Patton and undrafted free agents DeAndrew White and Dres Anderson, there might be safer, cheaper options for the 49ers than keeping Simpson around.

DE Darnell Dockett

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

2015 Cap Hit: $3.75 million
Cap Savings if Cut: $3.75 million

Only three players—Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis and Aldon Smith—would give the 49ers more cap room than Dockett would if they were cut.  If the 49ers wanted to make a major splash like, for example, bringing in ex-Eagles guard Evan Mathis, Dockett might be a name they could cut.

Dockett, of course, was brought in to add veteran leadership to a defensive line that lost both Justin Smith and Ray McDonald this past season.  Dockett has had a very solid career in Arizona, but, like Kendall Hunter, missed the entire 2014 season due to injury.

Unlike Hunter, Dockett has yet to be cleared for practice.  According to Tyler Emerick of the team’s official website, Dockett could be cleared by the start of training camp, with the operative word being “could.”

If Dockett is healthy and back to his old form, there’s no doubt he makes the roster and becomes a starter.  He’s still a decent player, even if he’s not the Pro Bowler he was earlier in his career.  However, when you’re talking about a 34-year-old coming off a major knee injury, that’s a rather enormous “if.”

This is why his contract, though large, has no guaranteed money in it.  If the 49ers feel Dockett isn’t up to his old standards, they can move on from him with no penalty whatsoever.  Unlike Hunter, who should be back at 100 percent shortly, there’s reason to be concerned about Dockett’s recovery.  Until he gets back on the field, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be on the final 53-man roster.

ILB Nick Bellore

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

2015 Cap Hit: $1.17 million
Cap Savings if Cut: $1.14 million

When Patrick Willis and Chris Borland retired, the 49ers needed to add some bodies to the back end of the inside linebacking corps.  With that in mind, they signed ex-Dolphin Philip Wheeler and ex-Jet Nick Bellore.

Bellore has spent the last four years with the Jets, not starting a single game or spending any significant time on defense.  He’s a special teamer, first and foremost, and a pretty darn good one.  Pro Football Focus indicates that Bellore has been the most productive special teams linebacker over the past few seasons, with 10 special teams tackles last year and 13 the year before that.  That’s a significant number; no 49er had double-digit special teams tackles last season, though L.J. McCray and Craig Dahl came close.

Still, over $1 million for a special teams specialist is a bit of a large hit to take.  Bellore has almost no experience playing defense in the NFL.  If injuries were to happen and Bellore were to be thrust into a starting role at inside linebacker, it would be a position he has not played before—he couldn’t beat out players such as David Harris in New York.

There is something to be said for having specials teams aces on your squad, but ideally, they can fill in at other places.  Dahl isn’t a fantastic safety, but he’s shown the ability to fill in in a pinch, for example.  Bellore’s more of an unknown quantity.  If push comes to shove, that $1 million might be enough to tip Bellore off the roster.

All salary-cap numbers from OvertheCap.com.

Bryan Knowles is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.