Well, the Saints fired the first shot in the upcoming salary cap wars by jettisoning safety Roman Harper, defensive end Will Smith, and cornerback Jabari Greer. They also decided not to re-sign linebacker Jonathan Vilma. They went from $18 million over the cap to $3 milll under.
Which brings us to the 49ers. As we stand we are about $6 mill under. But we have a lot of talent that is going to be on the market this year or next. The most immediate pile of money to recoup would be for Carlos Rogers. He’s scheduled to make over $8 million this year, and the Niners could recoup $5 mill ($2.9 mill in dead money) by cutting him. Rogers balked last year at any kind of restructuring becasue he felt he had earned the money. The Niners ended up agreeing to this when Chris Culliver suffered a season-ending knee injury early in training camp. This year however is a different story. He’s not the best corner on the team anymore, and he knows that if he wants to stay he has to restructure. I think the Niners play hardball with him in the negotiations and he walks.
Frank Gore on the other had is another big pile of money that could become available. His $6 mill would instantly be freed up as his contract is ending this yewar, and there’d be no dead money to choke on. Cut Gore? That is a tough row to hoe for me, seeing as Gore was the bell cow for so many years under offensive geniouses Dumb (Nolan) and Dumber (Singletary). Both of them couldn’t yell loud enough, STOP GORE! THAT’S ALL WE DO!!! to every popponent we faced from 2005 to 2010. He bravely toiled on dogshit teams, playing through various injuries and basically getting pounded to dust regularly facing 9 in the tackle box. The fact that he did get hisd yards is all the more extraordinary. Plus, he should be in the Hall of Fame for his blocking ability alone, let alone the 10,000 yard mark he’s about to surpass.
Still and all, I hope against hope that Frank restructures. He certainly can force the issue and make this a PR thing. He has become one of the most well-liked and respected players in 49er history, and the fans love him. Still, $6 mill for a guy who is definitely winding down is another tough row to hoe for the bean counters, when they have guys like Boldin and Whitner as immediate concerns. His base salary is ‘only’ $3 mill, so maybe they can restructure around the bonusses. I think he stays. Cutting him would be bad juju. They can phase him out, but they can’t cut him.
So, 2 prudent moves like that would give the Niners close to $10 million more in cap room. Throw in Adam Snyder ($1 mill to the cap), Jon (look out!) Baldwin ($1.4 mill in cap savings, $0.00 in dead money), and super-sub Craig Dahl ($1.4 mill in cap relief) totals out to almost another $4 million. Jettison some guys buried deep on the depth chart (Jason Shepler, Michael Purcell) adn retool woth rookies, and the total is close to $5 mill. With the room they have, they could come up with close to $21 mill in room to play with.
Here are the numbers:
Then they can focus on signing Anquan Boldin and Donte Whitner to deals. And Phil Dawson. Huzzah!
Forty Niners Forever 
I think, if I’m not mistaken, the 49ers get to roll-over dead cap space from last year. I think they had something like 6 million unused they can apply to this year’s cap. If the 49ers could create something like 25 million in cap space, they could not only re-sign Boldin and Whitner, but they could also work to re-sign both Kaep and Cratbree to large deals.
The key, now more than ever, is the 49ers drafting well but more importantly developing rookies faster than anyone else so the rookie contributors are paid less, creating an opportunity for the 49ers to re-sign Kaep, Crabtree and Aldon Smith. Rookie running backs can contribute faster than any other position in football….. if they can pass block.
They have $3.3 mill to roll over from last year, but still have to pay out almost $2 mill in dead money, so it ain’t quite that good, but thius is all accounted for in the $6 mill in cap space I already mentioned. They certainly can create a lot of cap space with some smart moves.
Not sure if this’ll work, but here goes.
2014 totals Base Sal Sign Bonus Other Bonus Cap Fig
2013 r/o – – – 3,364,305
Top 51 Contracts 79,694,786 / 23,894,825 / 17,441,723 / 121,031,335
Dead Money 1,934,691
Totals 86,894,477 / 23,897,491 / 17,441,723 / 122,968,692
Cap Space 3,364,305 + 0 + 126,300,000 – 122,968,692= 6,695,613
Nevermind. I posted it in the thread.
On defense I want to see our starting corners be Culliver, Brown and Brock. If we have to pick between Brown and Whitner, I chose Brown. I like Whitner’s leadership abilities and his hits. He didn’t get as badly exposed in coverage this year as he did last. But I’d rather have a veteran cb over a veteran safety. Reid is an old soul, a smart kid and he’ll be able to teach up a new safety as long as the new safety has smarts. If we went with a younger secondary, to me that’s got longevity. I’d go after a smart safety with height and range. That’s what makes Reid so good. I know other fans will want veterans in the secondary. I want younger players.
Our linebackers are great. I wouldn’t rush Bowman back. No reason to. We have a stud in Nick Moody who I think will beat-out Wilhoite in preseason to start in place of Bowman for the first six or eight weeks. I think fans will be impressed with Moody. Bowman should sit out until the end of the season alla Crabtree. Don’t need Bowman running around like RGII.5.
Can’t wait to see Tank play along the D line. I’m sure he’ll get off to a slow start. But I think eventually he’ll start making plays and start getting a taste for the qb. I hope we draft another NT. I watched the “mic’d up” version of the Niner / Seattle Championship game. Lynch and Robinson were coming back to the sidelines calling our middle of our D line soft. I agreed when watching the game. We need a huge NT to push the pocket.
On offense, I’m convinced part of our passing woes are Frank Gore’s fault. Can’t run left or right because of the legs – only up the middle – and scouts eventually know you’re limited. When you’re limited, your OC appears limited. And if you’re a run team who runs to set-up the run, with a limited running back, your passing game suffers. I want the 49ers to draft two running backs in the second and fourth rounds. Draft a big, fast wide receiver in the first round.
Another good idea is to trade La Micheal James for Captain Kirk Cousin. Harbaugh was Captain Comeback. Cousins is Captain Kirk Cousins. Dump Colt McCoy. I’m sure Gruden would love another Geovani Bernard type in his backfield. Someone to compliment Morris.
I think the two guys we try to re-sign are Boldin and Brown, then use the extra money to re-sign Kaep and Crabtree now with the plan to let Iupati walk. If we have to eventually use the franchise on Aldon, do it. But don’t use the franchise on anyone else. Crabtree is good enough and you don’t use the franchise tag on a guard.
1.) WR
2.) Safety
2.) RB
3.) NT
3.) RB
3.) Safety
4.) Qb
5.) WR
6.) DE
7.) CB
7.) TE
7.) WR or Punter
GO NINERS!
Absolutely, positively no WR in the 1st rd. Period. End of discussion.
I know your philosophy, and I think it’s a good one. But think of it this way, Del. You and I (and every other knowledgeable Niner fan), wants to see this offense open up. Now you and I completely agree this league is a passing league and you need to throw the ball to win despite Seattle’s recent SB win. The adage of throwing to win still holds up for me. If the 49ers use a first round pick on a WR they’ll have to start throwing the ball more to justify the pick. When AJ Jenkins got here, he was buried behind what was a pretty good receiving corp even if Harbaugh didn’t use them correctly. But Jenkins also wasn’t that good. My point is that now we don’t have a great receiving corp, Boldin is old and Crabtree has a deal in the not so distant future that could get ugly. So now Harbaugh’s back’s to the wall. Now Harbaugh and Baalke have to draft a WR and they have to develop them, come hell or high water or be at the mercy of Crabtree’s agent who, by the way, is a pretty good one. And if they do develop a WR, the offense will also have to open up to justify Kaep’s new deal and the amount of capital we’ve thrown at the position. You give Kaep two stud rookie running backs, along with Kendal, and get the O line moving left and right, making defenses defend the entire width of the field, plus some WRs, and this offense will sing. Play action will actually work and we won’t have ten men in the box to stop the run game if we develop a WR to go along with Crabtree and Patton….. maybe Boldin.
And don’t give me this garbage about Jenkins being a first round pick and not developing. It was a different team and a different landscape. We had Moss, Crabtree, Williams (who we then thought might be good), and others like Lockette who showed promise. It was widely recognized that Harbaugh was red shirting Jenkins. And like, NJ wrote, Morton is also somewhat on the hot seat.
You don’t shy away from your weakness. You make it your strength.
That should read run to set up the pass, and Crabtree isn’t good enough to use the franchise tag on.
I’d be surprised if we even use th3e franchise tag this year. No need to piss off Crabs til next year.
Aldon Smith is the guy we use the franchise tag on next year. Think about it. The kid needs to mature. He also is worthy of top seven at his position money. So the franchise tag gives you a series of one year deals. The kid’s too good to let go. No signing bonus. No guaranteed money. If Aldon wants guaranteed money and a signing bonus, show us you can keep your nose clean for a few years. Can’t resent us and holdout if we’re being logical. I think the 49ers will low ball Aldon, not reaching a deal, then franchise him. If Aldon’s smart he’ll holdout the first year and sign the franchise tag offer if only the 49ers don’t use it a second year.
And in my opinion, because Aldon gets the franchise, Crabtree needs to be negotiated with now. We all saw how bad the offense was without Crabtree. And we also know how hard it is for the 49ers to draft wrs. And it makes no sense to take away Kaep’s main weapon and then give Kaep a new deal. That’s like going into the new stadium with Mike Singletary as your head coach. I’d start wearing Wranglers and watching the Seahawks….. and dating my sister (no offense, Chuck).
I didn’t date you sister, you did. Now your mama, that’s a different story.
Niners likely exercise the 5th year option on Aldon and wait to see if he is able to keep his shit together, then decide what to do. That way he is locked up through 2015 on his existing contract.
I don’t think they can keep Crabs beyond his current contract. He has changed agent which might help a bit but he will want top dollar after his initial contract fiasco and the Niners don’t pay top dollar.
Skuta played well in his limited action. But yes we need a plugger up front.
Williams is OK, and Dorsey did better than expected, but we need better beef up front.
I didn’t think Williams was that good. Dorsey will continue to improve, I think. But we need more beef at NT.
Willaims played all of 4.2 quarters. Hard to evaluate his work. Dorsey is about at his ceiling. Dial is the guy I want to see step up in a big way/.
I don’t need a lot to evaluate. He got pushed around way too much. But we’ll see.
Then you should know that Dorsey isn’t going to get better. He’s as good as he’s gonna get.
Dial and Tank better have more impact than the little they’ve shown.
I know what you mean but I think a second year in a system makes guys think less and react more. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Fangio and Tomsula took all the thought out of it for a NT. Who knows?
Dorsey’s been around enough to know what to do. The rookies? No. They are the future. Dorsey was a stop-gap who did a little better than expected. If Williams gets heathy, i’d think Dorsey goes.
That’s my feeling as well, 12th. I think Crabs inflated self-worth gets him a one-way ticket out of here.
Makes signing Boldin, drafting and/or free agency WR (2) and exploring Patton’s abilities a priority. It also means Kap has to stop holding his security blanket (Crabs) so tightly.
Spit wants 2 RB from the draft but i don’t see that unless one of them is designated for ST.
From the brief look of Williams at starting NT I thought he held up well, not sure how Spit can say he is not up to snuff. Dorsey played decent all season, not dominating usually but decent. I would like to see the draft guys from last year show well in camp and pre-season. I doubt the Niners go NT in the draft.
I wouldn’t go WR in the first round necessarily, corner is the safer bet but it comes down to value at the pick between WR and CB for me.
Skuta and Wilhoite both played very well last year. Not sure about Moody he hurt his hand in the opening game and went on IR.
Looking forward to seeing Luke Marquardt, a tackle who redshirted last year for a foot injury. That guy is 315 and 6’8″ and is said to move very well. He played small school so it’s hard to predict but a heck of an athlete. They also brought back G Al Netter, he looked promising too.
I figure Goodwin is probably not coming back, he was adequate but nothing special. Have to wait to see who shines in camp.
I don’t think Jim Harbaugh or Greg Roman can afford to lose Cratbree. I went to the Carolina game during the regular season. Sickening offense. Without play makers, Roman and Harbaugh make life really tough on themselves. They aren’t good at creating play makers on offense in the passing game. I swear, I could have developed Jon Baldwin into a player, ready for the playoffs.
I think Crabtree’s fair market value is something like 8-10 million per year. But that’s always affected by what the current NFL market is when Crabtree hits the open market. If he finds it’s a soft market, I’d pay him 8 million a year. That’s what we paid Boldin, and I don’t see much difference between Boldin and Crabtree.
The real question is whether or not Crabtree and his agent are realistic about Crabtree’s worth. Another question is whether or not Harbaugh would try to convince Crabtree the team will throw the ball more.
Before the Ravens traded Boldin, he treated to retire. I wonder what Boldin’s thinking now?
I think Boldin was 6 mil Spit. Crabs will be looking for 12 mil a year. He got his ass handed to him trying to force a bigger contract than his slot position because he had no leverage the first time around. I would bet he is looking for top dollar now he has the leverage and that flies in the face of the Niner philosophy.
If he will settle for 8 mil I say pay the man but I will be surprised.
Goodwin is the weakest link on the line. He was overpowered regularly. Looney and Kilgore Trout don’t seem to be engendering any love as his replacement, though.
If they go C high (say 2nd round) then they obviously think it’s a concern.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see them draft a C. Really depends on what they think they have with Looney and Kilgore. Looney looked OK at the end of the season in spot play. Haven’t seen enough of either to have an opinion though.
Spit, a quote of yours from above “The adage of throwing to win still holds up for me.”
Umm, I’ve never heard of this adage.
You’ve never heard the NFL is now a passing league? You’ve never put together that Peyton, Aaron, Drew and Tom have won the majority of the Super Bowls in the last decade or so? Despite Russell winning it this year, the league’s still biased towards the pass – because of the penalties.
Am I aware that most teams pass more than run? Of course, but I think you made up that adage. It’s a Spitism.
Okay, you got me there. There’s no adage. But there should be.
NT Williams hopes to be back in time for TC:
I watched the kid closely in the games he started at the beginning of the year. He got washed a lot. I’d rather have Dorsey start.
I think the Niners need to upgrade CB. I would cut Carlos either way. Brown is good but small, Cully was good but who knows about his injury, Brock was solid but not spectacular, Cox is a decent back up. I just don’t feel a dominant player is on the squad at CB and if they had just 1 dominant guy it would make a world of difference. Reid was very good but was injured twice. Whitner had a better year but still plays the run much better than the pass. I would try to keep Whittner and draft his replacement.
There are a few very good corners that will be gone in the first round and after that there seems to be a significant talent drop off which is why I would go CB in the first and WR after that since WR is talent deep this year.
I haven’t really looked at the crop of CBs in this draft. I’ve been mainly paying attention to the WRs. Time to do a little studying.
All of the projected top corners are all 6′ and under. If you’re looking to go big, you can wait until rd. 3.
Reading the Bleacher Report makes me want to go on the wagon. Seeing the effects alcohol has had on their writers is downright frightening. Nothing but a bunch of mooks.
Speaking of the bleacher report here is a piece on S Calvin Pryor:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1957539-why-calvin-pryor-is-a-first-round-safety-in-todays-nfl
Great talent. But no way in hell could Baalke go FS in the 1st rd in back-to-back drafts. If he did I’d accuse him of hanging out with Scot McCloughan during happy hour.
Right. Scotty had his hand in building the 2 top teams in the NFL right now.
I forgot about CB Eric Wright. I presumed when they chose to play Cox over Wright in the playoffs that Wright was done. I read this piece which explains Wright had the flu although he didn’t show up on the injury report with an illness. Maybe he still has a shot after all.
http://www.ninersnation.com/2014/2/14/5409890/eric-wright-blog-entry-playoffs-injury
Eric Wright has a shot? I think he’s already had a few too many. That’s his problem.
Don’t know the real story on Wright. He was injured and now I learned he was apparently ill when he had a chance to play.
He was a fairly decent player for the Browns and the Lions though. 74 tackles and 4 picks in 2011 for the Lions.
I figured he was a bit of a problem in the locker room so he didn’t stick anywhere very long?
I don’t know if I’d go as far as “fairly decent.” His last two yrs. prior to coming here were some of the lowest grades over at PFF. I’m talking Nnamdi low.
Don’t know what happened at Tampa but maybe scheme didn’t fit or Shiano (sp?) buried him or Wright was a problem? I thought he was ok at Detroit. I wasn’t too excited about the Niners signing him at the time but he has/had skills so if he is a reclamation project he maybe still in the mix.
Fangio seems to have faith in Wright’s abilities.
I doubt it. Wright is below Cox. And Cox may not even stick around. Although HE looked decent. I suppose it depends on the draft. If they get a couple solid corners, Cox and and Wright will be gone.
Wright under Cox? Taint right.
Fromunder cheese is made from goat’s milk.
In no particular order
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson
Donte Moncrief
Brandin Cooks
Marqise Lee
Jarvis Landry
Martavis Bryant
Odell Beckham Jr.,
Davante Adams
Kelvin Benjamin
Mike Evans,