49ers’ needs stay same as their options are dwindling
The 49ers still don’t know who will protect their starting quarterback’s blind side in 2021. Or who will back up their starting quarterback. The 49ers didn’t sign Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams to a contract extension Tuesday, and they didn’t agree to terms with one of the many freeagent backup quarterbacks, most of whom are now off the board. After Ryan Fitzpatrick (Washington) found a new home Monday, Andy Dalton (Bears), Tyrod Taylor (Texans) and Jacoby Brissett (Dolphins) all found landing spots in the second and final day of free agency’s legaltampering period. Players can sign contracts Wednesday, the first day of the new league year.
General manager John Lynch acknowledged last month that the 49ers had to upgrade at backup quarterback, noting the 49ers’ 617 record when Jimmy Garoppolo has been sidelined with
injuries since 2018.
However, the biggest priority this week, of course, is making sure they keep Williams, 32, who would play a key role in helping Garoppolo stay healthy.
The 49ers are reportedly the favorites to sign Williams, but the eighttime Pro Bowl selection has drawn interest from teams that include the Chiefs, Colts and Bears. Williams presumably is seeking a contract that would make him the NFL’s highestpaid offensive lineman. That title is held by Green Bay left tackle David Bakhtiari, who earns an average of $23 million per year. Williams has said he’s seeking a four to fiveyear contract, and the 49ers and other teams will have to consider how much guaranteed money to include in a longterm deal for a player who will turn 33 in July.
The 49ers might be forced out of their comfort zone if they want to keep Williams given the potential fallout if they fail.
The freeagent market isn’t flooded with topend tackles. The most talented, Kansas City’s Eric Fisher, 30, is rehabbing from a torn Achilles in January. Other options include Minnesota’s Riley Reiff, 32, and Pittsburgh’s Alejandro Villanueva, 32. If Williams exits, the odds would greatly increase that the 49ers would use their No. 12 pick on the position. The most logical option would be Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater, who said last week at his pro day that he’d spoken with the 49ers.
As far as freeagent options at backup quarterback, the list is far less appealing than it was Monday. The 49ers, with Garoppolo as their presumptive starter, couldn’t match the opportunity and money that Washington and Chicago offered Fitzpatrick and Dalton, respectively. Both signed oneyear, $10 million deals and are expected to compete for a starting spot. Brissett and Taylor signed oneyear contracts worth nearly $6 million.
The 49ers’ top remaining options? They include Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky and Washington’s Alex Smith. The 49ers reportedly have had interest in the Jets’ Sam Darnold, who is not a free agent and would have to be acquired in a trade.
The 49ers didn’t add a free agent Tuesday, but they lost one when cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, 25, signed a oneyear deal worth $4 million with the Seahawks. It wasn’t a surprise the 49ers didn’t retain Witherspoon, a 2017 thirdround pick whose inconsistent tenure was marked by both brilliance and benchings.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin was returned to the 49ers, at an expense.
In a bizarre transaction, Goodwin, who was traded to the Eagles in a draftday deal in April, reverted to the 49ers on Tuesday, the final day of the 2020 league year. Goodwin, 30, came back to the 49ers because conditions of the trade were not met after Goodwin opted out last season. As a result, the 49ers have to give Philadelphia its own 2021 seventhround pick. The 49ers now have nine picks in this draft.
The 49ers traded Goodwin last year in a swap of sixthround picks in which they moved up 20 spots in the round. They are not expected to retain Goodwin, who can be released without financial penalty.