The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the less active teams in the 2024 free agency cycle, but they’ve still gotten in on the action.
The 49ers have lost players, but they’ve added some key players as well. However, there’s still more room to add to the roster to try and get back to the Super Bowl again in 2024. According to Over the Cap, the 49ers have just under $15 million in available cap space with which to work, which is plenty depending on how the contracts are structured.
49ers Free Agency Fits: Players Still Available at Positions of Need
So far, they’ve lost Arik Armstead, Sam Darnold, Javon Kinlaw, Clelin Ferrell, Isaiah Oliver, Oren Burks, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Charlie Woerner, and Matt Pryor. That totals three defensive linemen, one quarterback, one linebacker, one quarterback, one wide receiver, one tight end, and one offensive lineman.
On the flip side, they’ve signed 10 players, some already in-house and some from outside organizations. Some of those players include Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott, and many more.
Considering all of that, the 49ers have a few needs. They need depth at defensive tackle and some additions at wide receiver and offensive line.
Trent Brown Can Strengthen Offensive Line
Going into the offseason, one of the biggest issues for the 49ers was their offensive line. It showed up in the Super Bowl, especially in overtime, and resulted in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Currently, the 49ers starter at right tackle is Colton McKivitz, who allowed nine sacks in 2023.
With the 49ers potentially in the market for a new right tackle, or at least some competition for McKivitz, former New England Patriots right tackle Trent Brown could be a prime target. He was ranked by PFN as the 37th-best player in free agency and, despite being 31 years old, allowed just three sacks in 2023.
Hunter Renfrow Improves Wide Receiving Core
The 49ers’ need for a receiver isn’t at outside receiver where they have Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel — it’s at slot receiver. The current starting slot receiver for the 49ers is Jauan Jennings, followed by Ronnie Bell.
In five years with the 49ers, Jennings has 78 receptions for 963 yards and seven touchdowns. Bell, on the other hand, had six receptions for 68 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season. As a restricted free agent in 2024, the 49ers placed a tender on Jennings.
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Top 100 Free Agent Rankings
Renfrow, however, could come in and immediately compete to start at the slot spot. In 73 games over five seasons with the Oakland-turned-Las Vegas Raiders, he caught 269 passes for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns. That includes 2021, when he caught 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns, all career-highs.
Teair Tart Gives Much Needed Depth
Considering the 49ers lost both Armstead and Kinlaw, there is a need for the position. They did bring back Kevin Givens and traded for Maliek Collins, but they could still use one more quality depth piece to rotate with Collins and Javon Hargrave. Teair Tart could be that guy.
He’s played in 47 games since 2020, including 13 in 2023 with both the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. In those games, he’s started 36 times, totaling 79 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 16 tackles for loss.
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