The San Francisco 49ers’ glum 12-6 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday all but eliminated Kyle Shanahan’s 6-8 side from postseason contention.
San Francisco faces an onslaught of difficult cap questions this offseason: the team’s $66 million available cap space does not include quarterback Brock Purdy, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, cornerback Charvarius Ward, and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Is the team’s Super Bowl window closing? The 49ers will have to pick and choose who stays next year, including stars on both offense and defense… and maybe even on the coaching staff. Mirror U.S. Sports has examined a worst-case scenario 49ers offseason that potentially sees the end of the team’s current Super Bowl window.
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Overpaying Brock Purdy
Purdy is currently in the last-year of his bargain rookie contract and after playing for peanuts in recent seasons is eligible for a massive contract extension this offseason. Dak Prescott signed a four-year, $240 deal ahead of the 2024 season for the highest annual average value ($60 million) in the history of the sport. Purdy may want to top that number.
Purdy is certainly an above-average signal caller, having led his team to the Super Bowl last year while throwing for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns. But is he worth a six-year, $366 million fully-guaranteed deal? He’s worth a big contract, just not that much.
Deebo Samuel leaves
The 49ers may have expressed how they feel about Samuel when they handed fellow receiver Brandon Aiyuk a four-year, $120 million contract before the year. Next year will mark Samuel’s last in his three-year, $71.6 million extension signed in 2022 following the lone All-Pro campaign on his career.
He has under 700 total yards in 13 games played this season and hardly resembles the 2021 version of himself who totaled close to 1,800 yards. San Francisco can designate him as a post-6/1 trade and move him to another contender to save over $5 million against the cap.
This is by the far the most unlikely scenario listed. However, NBC’s Mike Florio floated the idea – specifically to the Chicago Bears – ahead of the two teams meeting earlier in December.
“I feel like [Shanahan] is on the Andy Reid path where he is never going to reach his full potential unless he goes to a new team,” Florio said. “And his dad’s from Illinois. There’s kind of an appeal to that.”
The New Orleans Saints traded the rights to Sean Payton (along with a third-round pick) to the Denver Broncos in 2023 for a first and second round pick. The asset-depleted 49ers could certainly use a bounty of draft choices.