Off-season

I know its early but 4I heard 49ers will have about 15-17  million to spend after they trade Alex or cut him. 

@ Herodreamer

I think the 49ers will use the franchise tag on Sopoaga. Franchising the NT will be cheaper than using it on Goldson and Delanie. I don't think they want to use it on Delanie because they have a lot of $'s at TE in Vernon Davis already. Goldson has stated that he doesn't want to be franchised 2 years in a row.

The 49ers could very well bargain bin shop...but they have the cap room to do more if they choose...and I agree that they will need to plan for 2014 to some degree.

If it really comes down to Jenkins work ethic, I hope someone in that locker room gets through to him...Vernon, Willis and even Crabtree have strong work ethics. I'm surprised about Jenkins lack of work ethic...nothing in predraft scouting reports mentioned that in his personality and his rookie contract figures where he was drafted isn't that much compared to pre-2010 contract figures, so you would think that he would bust his butt a bit more...at least until he hits paydirt. 

harbaugh just said in his season-ending press conference that he wants Goldson locked up longterm.... wants it to be the priority..

you can pretty much bank on that getting done now.

I read that as well. Prior to last season, Goldson wanted to be one of the highest paid Safeties in the league. Having the support of the coach is one thing, getting an actual deal done is another. I'm hoping a deal gets done even though I'm not too happy with Goldson's coverage skills this past year. Getting him signed would at least take an action item off the table before free agency.

I read that too, but getting it done has been a problem. They've been trying to get it done since the 2011 season with no success. Goldson wants to be one of the top paid Safeties if not the top paid Safety. I'm hoping a deal does get done under favorable terms for the 49ers. I'm not happy about Goldson's coverage skills this past season, but at least getting him signed will take one action item off the table before free agency begins.

One more offseason cut: David Akers.

He'll save $3 million against the cap. 

I hope we draft that kicker from FSU.

I only see that we have 11 draft picks.

Either way 11, 14, or 15........its still a LOT of draft picks.

I think we package a few together and move up in a couple of the rounds.

We do not have a lot of holes to fill, so we can be aggresive in this draft and look for quality instead of quantity.

And it also sounds like we have a lot of cap space. 

they should get something for Alex Smith...

that'll clear up some cap space...

probably going to lose Delanie Walker... but thats not a huge deal... lots of TE free agents out there.... and the draft is supposedly pretty deep with TEs as well.

Without factoring in the compesatory picks from free agent losses, the team has 11 picks. That number will go up though, and that's without a potential trade of Alex Smith. Hard to assume picks for this year on that one though, as the team could opt to try and get a 2nd or 3rd rounder next year for Alex. 

The team actually doesn't have very much cap room, BEFORE the trade/releasing of Smith. It'll be interesting to see if the team decides to just use all their picks to try and get multiple guys to create competition, or if they target certain high impact guys and package picks to move up and get them the way they did with Kaep. Good options to have.  

I think it would make sense for the team to package their picks and makes as many moves in the first 3 rounds to bring in quality players that could contribute to the team this year. This isn't going to be the type of offseason we are used to seeing in a long time. For the last 5 some-odd years or so we have been debating on what the 49ers should do to build a winning team. That typically means accumulating picks and addressing a lot of holes on the roster and shoring up depth. This year, it's different. We have a few holes and depth is not great, but pretty solid. Thus, it makes sense to part with a few picks and pick up some higher quality prospects. Also, we still have a finite amount of roster space...so if we end up drafting 11-14 prospects, odds are that several of those draft picks end up getting cut before the season starts. 49ers went the route of best player available last year...hardly any of those picks received playing time. LaMichael got in on the action late due to injury to Hunter. AJ had chances due to injury as well. Had Hunter and Manningham/Williams not have been injured, neither James or Jenkins would've played at all. 

The 49ers are about $2.5 - $4.5 million under the cap depending on the source. The 49ers (as all teams do every year) will manipulate their roster to free up another few million. Fewer draft picks also means fewer players to sign against the cap. Alex is $8.5 million against the cap. I believe he will be traded...not cut. If that happens, the 49ers will have over $10+ million in cap room and enough to get things done with Sopoaga, Delanie, and/or Goldson. And if not, find free agent replacements. They then could use the draft to fill in the blanks, mainly for depth and role players.

The 49ers should (and I believe they will) strike while the iron is hot. This is a team that is winning now and just need to bolster a few areas to make a run for a Championship in 2013.

These are the priorities as I see today:

Starters Needed:
FS
NT
#2 TE (Because the 49ers play 2 TE on at least 50% of their plays).
WR - Insurance for Manningham

Depth:
DL
OLB
ILB
G


 

Also, as mentioned previously, cutting Akers would free up another $3 million in cap space and the 49ers could draft a Kicker with one of their Comp picks.