49ers Top Five Free Agent Signings in Last Decade
The 49ers had some great teams this past decade. Starting with the Jim Harbaugh era in 2011 and ending with Kyle Shanahan in 2019, San Francisco made the NFC Championship four times, winning it twice. Even though a majority of those rosters’ stars were acquired via the draft or trade, some important players were signed in free agency.
Here are the 49ers’ top five free agent signings of the 2010s.
*Disclaimer* Players who signed as undrafted free agents or re-signed in free agency don’t count (Jimmy Garoppolo, Matt Breida, Ahmad Brooks, Jimmie Ward).
Raheem Mostert, Running Back, 2016
The 49ers haven’t had a whole lot of success with offensive free agents this decade. Reggie Bush, Torrey Smith and Randy Moss were probably the highest profile signings, but none crack this list. Despite plenty of busts mixed in, the 49ers have mostly attempted to fill offensive needs via trade or the draft.
This leaves rather slim pickings for the best of the offensive free agents this decade, but one is far-and-away the most impactful.
Just like the first few years of his NFL career, Raheem Mostert would have been a quick cut from this list prior to his breakout 2019. Six different teams waived Mostert before Chip Kelly and the 49ers signed him to their practice squad. On New Year’s Eve of 2016, he was added to the 53-man roster, and he was off and running.
Mostert spent the next two years as a special teams ace before finally becoming a lead-back in 2019. He gained national celebrity with his 220-yard, four touchdown performance in the NFC Championship win over Green Bay.
The game plan was completely centered around seeing if the Packers could stop Mostert, and they couldn’t. That type of confidence from a coach in a player is rare, but it proves just how important Mostert is to this current San Francisco team.
Richard Sherman, Cornerback, 2018
Another current 49er joins the list, but his arrival was much different from Mostert’s. Former Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman, turned some heads for multiple reasons when he signed with San Francisco in March of 2018.
A torn Achilles not only abruptly ended Sherman’s 2017 season, it finished his long and incredibly successful run in Seattle. Had he been healthy, he would have been the most sought-after free agent, or he could even still be captaining the Legion of Boom.
The 49ers were coming off a promising 6-10 season. Shanahan, in his first year as head coach, and Jimmy Garoppolo partnered to lead the offense, but the team needed an identity on defense. Who better to lead than your mortal enemy?
The two became a perfect match. Sherman added an important swagger and confidence to the struggling defense. In 2019, the 49ers had the top pass defense, allowing just 169.2 yards-per-game.
Sherman, who represented himself in these negotiations, elected to sign an incentive-ladened three-year, $39.15 million contract with the 49ers. At the time of the signing, Sherman was ridiculed for the team-friendly deal. After his Pro Bowl 2019 season, the incentives kicked in and Sherman was the one laughing on Twitter, calling out his doubters.
K’Waun Williams, Nickelback, 2017
Not all home-run free agent signings appear that way on the surface. When the 49ers signed K’Waun Williams in February of 2017, he seemed like nothing more than depth for a bad secondary.
His first two seasons in Santa Clara weren’t anything special. Yet, like the majority of his teammates, he took his play to another level in 2019, becoming one of the most irreplaceable 49ers and best nickelbacks in the NFL.
Williams owned the slot with physical coverage and tackling. Like Sherman, he played a major part on the NFL-leading pass defense, even earning two All-Pro votes.
Although great in coverage, Williams is also very talented at stripping the ball-carrier. In 2019, he finished tied for sixth in the NFL in forced fumbles with four, but he was tied with Logan Ryan and Malcom Jenkins for first among defensive backs.
His importance was evident when he was concussed with six minutes left in the 2019 week 14 game against New Orleans. The 49ers would immediately give up a 21-yard touchdown on the next play and get torched for another over a 90-second drive. The next week, with Williams still inactive, Atlanta would put up 29 points and 290 yards to pull off the upset win. That’s 43 points in 66 minutes without Williams.
Donte Whitner, Strong Safety, 2011
Prior to Sherman and Williams, the 49ers’ first successful run in the 2010s also came on the back of a stellar defense. The top-notch Vic Fangio-led defense from 2011-2014 boasted homegrown talent of Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith and Dashon Goldson, as well as pre-2010 acquisitions Justin Smith and Ahmad Brooks.
What took the secondary from great to otherworldly, was the signing of safety Donte “Hitner” Whitner. The hard nosed safety wasn’t afraid to lay his body on the line, and added an extra physical element to the defense.
Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Whitner was all over the field as the star of a bad Buffalo team. His last season there, the Bills relied on Whitner to make 140 tackles. With the 49ers, he had Willis and Bowman. Instead, Whitner’s job went from getting the ball-carrier down, to laying a punishing blow to anyone in his path.
Whitner’s best tackle came in the 2012 NFC Divisional Round win over the Saints. New Orleans running back Pierre Thomas caught a short pass from Drew Brees and had a good shot at a first-quarter touchdown. Yet, Whitner laid the hammer on Thomas, not only stopping him short of the end zone, but forcing a fumble on the play as well.
The safety's playing-style might not fit in today’s NFL. A lot of his best hits would likely be flags or fines now that players’ safety is more in the forefront. But that doesn’t change how important “Hitner” was to the Fangio defense.
David Akers, Kicker, 2011
If defensive back isn’t San Francisco’s specialty in free agency, then kicker is. Robbie Gould and Phil Dawson were both great signings, but neither reached the level that David Akers did with the 49ers in 2011.
Akers signed with the 49ers after a 12-year career in Philadelphia. In his first season, he would make 44-for-52 field goals to lead the NFL (11 more than his closest competitor), making the Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honors in his first season. He made four field goals in six different games that season, hit seven 50+-yard kicks and all four playoff attempts.
His 2012 was definitely not great (29-for-42), but he was a perfect 3-for-3 in the Super Bowl.
He also did something neither Gould nor Dawson did. In the 2011 week 17 matchup with the Rams, Akers took a direct snap and threw to Michael Crabtree, who was hiding on the edge of the field, for a 14-yard touchdown. The 49ers would go on to beat the Rams by 7. How many kickers can say their arm won them a game?
