San Francisco 49ers: 5 Cap-saving cuts to make in 2020 offseason
The San Francisco 49ers need to create salary-cap space, so which five players could be cut in the 2020 offseason to help the cause moving forward?
After falling short in Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers face a crucial offseason where general manager John Lynch will be put to the test to keep this group intact. As things currently stand in the 2020 offseason, they have only $13.1 million in room under the salary cap, one of the lowest totals in the league, according to Over the Cap.
The limited cap space is relevant because the 49ers have tough decisions to make this offseason. They would surely like to re-sign defensive end Arik Armstead, safety Jimmie Ward and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, the latter of which San Francisco traded for in the middle of the 2019 season.
Additionally, two key pieces in the 49ers equation, defensive tackle Arik Armstead and tight end George Kittle, should be looking for new extensions. That’s a lot of work to do with only $13.1 million. Subsequently, the Niners need to find ways to save money against the salary cap this offseason.
While they can restructure some contracts, such as those of Joe Staley, Jimmy Garoppolo or Richard Sherman, San Francisco also has some prime cut candidates that could save money. But first, we start with one player who needs to be traded (and probably should be) to save the 49ers some cash. (All cap figures are via Over the Cap.)
5. Solomon Thomas (via trade)
In the moment, Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers trading down from No. 2 to 3 in the 2017 NFL Draft and taking Solomon Thomas out of Stanford seemed like a work of genius. And while the move itself still deserves plenty of credit, the selection of Thomas has not played out as hoped.
Amidst the 49ers stout defensive front, Thomas has fallen behind. While Armstead, Nick Bosa and DeForest Buckner all played over 75 percent of the defensive snaps, Thomas played only 41.2 percent. Furthermore, he has only 6.0 sacks and 16 tackles for loss over three seasons. He’s simply been inconsequential.
Cutting Thomas in the fourth year of his rookie contract, however, would not make sense. He would offer no cap relief and San Francisco would incur an $8.9 million dead cap hit. However, if they can trade him, they’d save $4.3 million on the cap. And given his draft pedigree and the 49ers lack of capital, trading Thomas would be their best option and something they may well be able to accomplish.