NaVorro Bowman gets deal restructred

San Francisco 49ers superstar inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman will have plenty of time to recover from the ACL and MCL tears he suffered in the NFC Championship game, as the 49ers can afford to bring him back slowly after drafting Chris Borland. The 49ers have depth at inside linebacker behind the elite starting tandem of Patrick Willis and Bowman, which means that there will be just about no risk of Bowman being rushed back.

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While Bowman is rehabbing from his major knee injury, the 49ers have restructured his deal in order to save a couple of million under the salary cap, as they were previously running very close to the cap limit after the draft. The 49ers would like to extend Colin Kaepernick before training camp opens, so this move gives them some more negotiating room.

CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reports that the restructuring will save the 49ers $2.616 million on the salary cap, as they converted $3.27 million of base salary for the 2014 season into a bonus that the team can later spread out over the course of his deal. The 25-year-old’s contract escalates now, and he’s signed through 2019. Bowman was scheduled to earn $7.05 million next season, but he will now make $4.434 million.