49ers don’t see spending spree in near future
Jadeveon Clowney won’t be walking through the 49ers’ lockerroom door.
And neither will any other bigmoney player, at least not anytime soon.
That was 49ers general manager John Lynch’s message Sunday, a day after news that the 49ers reportedly had created $9.5 million in salarycap space fueled socialmedia speculation they were about to join the pursuit for Clowney, the Pro Bowl pass rusher who signed with the Titans on Sunday.
Lynch said a huge move wasn’t imminent for a team that returns 18 of 22 starters from last season’s Super Bowl runnersup. Rather, Lynch said, the 49ers restructured Dee Ford’s contract at least partly to have enough money for mundane matters such as funding an expanded 16man practice squad and paying out contract incentives that could be realized.
There’s also the possibility that injuries could prompt the 49ers to acquire a highsalaried player during the season, which they did last year when they dealt for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from Denver at the trade deadline.
“There’s going to be some things coming down the line that balance it out that don’t include going to get a bigtime player,” Lynch said. “Our roster’s pretty much set. We’re always going to be looking to try to improve. I know some people — there’s been conjecture that some big move’s coming as a result of that. You’re also always building reserves. … (It was) really more of a housekeeping thing than any big adjustments.”
Ford was set to be the 49ers’ highestpaid defensive player this season, counting $15.9 million against the salary cap. The 49ers converted $9.5 million of his $13.65 million base salary into a signing bonus that presumably will be spread over the final three years of his contract.
The move creates money in the present, but it could come with a future cost: It will create more deadcap money if the 49ers decide to release Ford before his contract expires after the 2023 season.
Before his restructure, the 49ers would have had a relatively modest deadcap hit of $4.8 million if they released Ford after this season. With the restructure, the deadcap hit would be more than $14 million.
That’s notable given Ford, 29, had offseason knee surgery for tendinitis that plagued him last year, and his medical file also includes two back surgeries, the last in 2017. Ford played just 226 snaps — 22% of the team’s defensive total — last year because of his balky knee and a hamstring injury.
Asked about the 49ers appearing to commit to Ford beyond 2020, Lynch suggested the pass rusher was always in their longterm plans.
“In terms of how long he’s going to be here and what we’re paying him, it’s all the same,” Lynch said.
Lynch said the 49ers could have a “couple more of these conversions” to create cap space, That’s probably with an eye to having more money in 2021, when the salary cap could fall by nearly $25 million and the 49ers will have a host of notable free agents.
Before restructuring Ford’s contract, the 49ers did the same last year with two other highpriced players, center Weston Richburg and linebacker Kwon Alexander.
The 49ers have yet to restructure the contract of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, their highestpaid player who has a $23.8 million base salary in 2020. After this season, the 49ers could trade or release him and incur a deadcap hit of only $1.2 million in 2021.
By significantly reworking Garoppolo’s deal, they would, in essence, be committing to keeping him through the end of his contract in 2022. Lynch was asked if the lack of a restructure suggested the 49ers were hesitant to commit to Garoppolo beyond 2020.
“No, I don’t think so at all,” Lynch said. “Jimmy is our quarterback, and we’ve stated that numerous times. Jimmy is as big a part of our plans as he’s ever been. And we’re really excited having Jimmy Garoppolo as our quarterback going into this year.
“I wouldn’t read too much into that. These other things are conversions that help the team and our guys are willing to do them. But that’s all it is.”