Writing may be on the wall for this 49ers free agent

We hardly knew you.

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The San Francisco 49ers have some tough roster decisions to make in free agency. Jason Pinnock started for the team at the beginning of the season and finished the season as a role player in dime situations. Will the 49ers let him walk in free agency, and if so, what will they do to replace him?

Will the San Francisco 49ers re-sign free agent Jason Pinnock?

The case to re-sign him is that he has experience with this team. Pinnock was asked to start for the first five games of the season and then was immediately asked to change his role. He was typically a deep safety early in the year, but in dime, he was asked to play much closer to the line of scrimmage.

Still, in those roles, he was able to find a spot in the defense, and he got comfortable with players such as Upton Stout, Malik Mustapaha, and Dee Winters. 

On the other hand, there area few reasons to bring Pinnock back. The Los Angeles Rams exposed him, which is why San Francisco felt the need to reduce his role. More than that, while he can adjust with an offseason to prepare, he was not good in the dime role. 

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San Francisco had no other options but to keep using him, but they would have liked to find someone else. The team will have a new defensive coordinator; he will have a say on who stays and goes, and it is hard to see him interested in Pinnock, even at a low-end salary. 

The team is going to need to address safety, though. Ji’Ayir Brown has proven that he is the best in the dime role. He started to struggle the more time he got work as an actual safety. Mustapha is a capable starter, but Marques Sigle has not quite shown enough that he can be trusted. 

The good news is that if they view Brown as the dime option, they can just bring in a veteran to push Sigle for the starting spot opposite of Mustapha. 

Names who could replace Pinnock include Kyle Dugger, PJ Locke, Andrew Wingard, Julian Blackmon, MJ Stewart, and Nick Cross. The reality is that there will be a lot of free agent safety options available this offseason to add someone into the mix. 

Pinnock had a notable role, but the 49ers are going to need to let him walk in free agency.