Pending free agents:
A halfdozen players could be deepsixed by the 49ers.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in the 49ers’ 2018 plans.
But what about their other pending free agents?
Beyond Garoppolo, who almost certainly will receive a long-term deal or the franchise tag, it doesn’t appear that any other player in the final year of his contract is a slam dunk to return next season.
That’s not entirely surprising, given the way general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have removed many of the players they inherited.
In the offseason, the 49ers had 17 unrestricted free agents on the first day of the new league year and re-signed only one: defensive tackle Chris Jones. In the regular season, they’ve signed one player to a contract extension: cornerback K’Waun Williams, the first player signed after Lynch and Shanahan took their jobs.
The new regime has traded or released 10 players selected in Trent Baalke’s final four drafts, a group that includes a second-round pick, two thirdrounders and four fourthround selections.
Here are six Baalke draft picks in the final year of their contracts who could be elsewhere in 2018: Running back Carlos Hyde: Given their short average career spans, running backs typically don’t have a chance to sign a third contract, meaning Hyde figures to maximize what could be his only opportunity to get paid the truly big bucks.
In 2017, he has set himself up to have some free-agent suitors: He ranks 12th in the NFL among running backs in yards from scrimmage (866), and his 42 receptions are already 15 more than his previous career high. In addition, he has helped remove his injury-prone tag by starting all 10 games, playing through a hip injury in the process, after missing 14 games in his first three seasons.
So why won’t the cash-rich 49ers pony up and keep their only proven running back in an offense starved at the skill positions? They could, but it’s not clear they’ve fallen for Hyde after Lynch and Shanahan offered lukewarm reviews shortly after they were hired.
“I think he’s a really good fit for our scheme,” Lynch said Tuesday. “He’s a really good fit for any scheme. He’s had a really good year and as he goes into the offseason, I really admire some of the things he does.”
Shanahan thought rookie running back Joe Williams was an ideal fit for his outside-zone-blocking scheme. The 49ers traded up in the fourth round to select him despite Lynch’s initial concerns about Williams leaving his Utah team during college.
Williams, who was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury after an unimpressive offseason, hasn’t played a snap. Hyde has played well — and the terms of a contract offer from the 49ers could indicate whether he has won over the new regime. Safety Eric Reid: On Oct. 29, when they played at Philadelphia, the 49ers seemed to make it clear whom they viewed as their safeties of the future: Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt manned the back end of the secondary and Reid was moved to linebacker after he’d made his first 60 NFL starts at safety.
Reid is back at his old position after Ward and Tartt suffered broken forearms, but he’s a starting-caliber player who presumably won’t want to return to a team on which he’s not viewed as one of the two best safeties.
In addition, rookie seventhround pick Adrian Colbert has been impressive the past two weeks, meaning the 49ers appear to have Reid — and three other capable safeties who are under contract for 2018.
The situation could change if the 49ers have second thoughts about moving Ward from cornerback to free safety, which is viewed as a more physically punishing position. Ward, who could address a need at cornerback, has ended three of his first four seasons on injured reserve, and will have missed 22 of the first 64 games of his career. Center Daniel Kilgore: Trivia time: What was Lynch’s first trade as a GM? He dealt for Baltimore center Jeremy Zuttah in March to compete with Kilgore for the starting spot. Zuttah was released in training camp, but the deal signaled the 49ers weren’t completely sold on Kilgore as the man in the middle of their line.
Their feelings might not have changed. Kilgore has been part of an interior that has struggled this season, and he has a team-high four offensive-holding penalties. On a rebuilding team, his age (he will be 30 in December) works against him, as does the presence of versatile undrafted rookie Erik Magnuson, 23. The 49ers view Magnuson as a guard and center, but he held up well at right tackle in his only NFL start, against Arizona on Nov. 5. Defensive end Aaron Lynch: After making a horrendous first impression on the new regime, Lynch has one sack in five games, has missed the past four games with a calf injury and was sidelined for the season opener with a back ailment.
In other words: Don’t expect him with the 2018 49ers.
In the offseason, Lynch, who tumbled to the fifth round of the 2014 draft because of off-the-field concerns, inexplicably reported overweight. He did so after a disastrous 2016 in which he weighed around 300 pounds in training camp, served a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy and missed five games with a sprained ankle.
The 49ers have a desperate need for an edge rusher, but Lynch has had more injuries than sacks (2.5) since 2015. Defensive lineman Tank Carradine: The 49ers probably value Carradine only in a niche role and his potential for playing time is capped on a team that has invested three recent first-round picks on defensive linemen.
That means it’s likely he’ll explore other options in the offseason.
A 2013 second-round pick, Carradine finally found a home this season after he was previously miscast at defensive tackle and outside linebacker. He has played 6-technique, lining up over a tight end and serving as a stout run defender. Carradine, who has five sacks in 39 career games, has not developed as a pass rusher.
Carradine has spent the past six games on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain and is eligible to return Sunday against the Seahawks. Cornerback Dontae Johnson: Brian Hoyer was the placeholder quarterback and Johnson is probably a placeholder cornerback.
The 49ers might have a keeper in rookie Ahkello Witherspoon, but they’ll look to upgrade at Johnson’s spot, meaning he would return only in a backup role.
Johnson has been part of a cornerback corps that has failed to produce big plays: The 49ers’ corners have five interceptions the past two seasons and none by Johnson, whose lone pick came as a rookie in 2014.