Five In-House Free Agents the 49ers Should Let Walk
21 decisions need to be made on free agents for the 49ers.
Which players do they try to re-sign? Which players do they lean towards letting them go elsewhere?
Here are five in-house free agents the 49ers should let walk.
Jaquiski Tartt
There is no in-house free agent on the 49ers that I see as most likely to leave than Jaquiski Tartt. The only reason Tartt ended up re-signing with the 49ers last offseason was due to the lack of a market. It makes sense since Tartt couldn't find any stroke of luck with his health and wasn't too sharp in limited action. Now that the offseason is no longer impacted heavily by COVID-19, there is sure to be suitors for Tartt.
The fact that he was relatively healthy and played at a high-level will make him in an interest to multiple teams surely. I have no doubt in my mind that the 49ers will want Tartt back. I just don't believe they'll be able to come to an agreement on the cost of a contract. Tartt is assuredly looking for a sweet payday as he is vastly underrated safety. Miami is one place I noted before as they have the salary cap space, a good defense, and no state income tax.
K'Waun Williams
Much like with Tartt, K'Waun Williams couldn't find a great market either. Again, health hurt his value along with limited action of playing at a high-level. Williams did have conversations with the Chiefs, but it didn't do enough to sway him from the 49ers. Unlike Tartt, Williams didn't drastically improve his market. Health is still a concern with him and his performance is on the downside. Bringing him back would be lovely for the 49ers. Williams has always been one of the most underrated players on the team given how much he does.
However, there is a price range that they will keep in mind with him. For Williams, it really behooves him to take a nice little deal with the 49ers. Maybe like a two- or three-year deal worth $8 million with incentives to raise it. Unless he goes to the Jets with Robert Saleh, I doubt he gets used as efficiently as he is with the 49ers. He fits here well. It is just a matter if he cares for that and sees this as his last year to get some type of cashout. At that point, the 49ers are better off flipping the page.
Jason Verrett
Speaking of flipping the page, Jason Verrett is another adequate secondary player who returned in 2021. Unfortunately, Verrett didn't have the double-down season he wanted to boost his value going into this offseason. Verrett's injury history will never leave him. The guy just has the worse luck. If he had stayed healthy for just 12 games or so, then the 49ers would have looked better. But it is time for the 49ers to move on. They have their starting cornerbacks already with Emmanuel Moseley and Ambry Thomas.
Even when the cornerback position looked bleak, the defense still managed to be an elite unit. Bringing back Verrett is not a pressing need or any real elite cornerback for that matter. It would be nice to have Verrett back, but that would mean he would start over Thomas. The 49ers are better off letting Verrett and their other injury prone secondary players walk. It is time to end their relationship with these players so that they are no longer forced to scramble with in season free agent signings like a Josh Norman.
Josh Norman
You just had to know I was transition to him. Norman must not be back. It's cool that he can force fumbles and all, but his positives do not outweigh or balance out the negatives. He's an extreme liability in coverage. There are two options that can play out with Norman in a play. He is either going to get beat badly to let up a huge play or he is going to commit a defensive pass interference.
I advocated for Norman to be a depth signing for the 49ers going into training camp. He was coming off a decent year with the Bills, so he looked like a nice player to bring in. But I did not think of him as a consecutive starter as the 49ers did. He couldn't even start for the Bills, which just shows how bleak the depth was for the Niners. Hopefully the 49ers do not see Norman as anything more than an emergency signing when they were desperate because he is not starting caliber.
Mohamed Sanu
Bringing in Mohamed Sanu back again last offseason was a great move for the 49ers. They needed another veteran presence in the wide receiver room, especially someone familiar with Kyle Shanahan. But as soon as he got injured, thanks to a Jimmy Garoppolo hospital ball, you could see how expendable he was. Losing him forced the 49ers to play Jauan Jennings more, and boy did he take advantage.
During training camp, wide receiver was viewed as a questionable position. Well, it is clear that it was unfounded concern. Sometimes you just got to be patient with young players and see what they can do. Jennings has stepped into the Kendrick Bourne role proficiently, if not greater. The only way I can see Sanu returning is because of his bond with Trey Lance. Other than that, there is no obligation to bring Sanu back. Just draft another late-round wide receiver and get him up to speed for depth.
