Offseason thread, WR hunt, Cap Space now $4.768M not counting JJ and Jacobs

[Ray_Dogg]

Dashon Goldson - DB - 49ers

CSN Bay Area's Matt Maiocco suggests FS Dashon Goldson as a candidate for the 49ers' franchise tag.
Goldson was forced to play under a one-year, $2 million contract in 2011 after turning down a five-year offer. The Niners could submit a similar multi-year offer this year and hope Goldson accepts this time around. The franchise number for safeties is $6.2 million. Goldson (ankle) and CB Carlos Rogers (knee) will sit out the Pro Bowl to rest nagging injuries.
Source: CSN Bay Area
Jan 24 - 4:57 PM

 

[Ray_Dogg]

How much gets allocated to our draft class?

 

[Ray_Dogg]

OK, I found the answer. I looked at all the cap hits for the 30th pick in each round or a close enough equivalent. The rough total for 7 picks in last years draft is $4,018,945.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

So taking out the extra 200k for Goldson and subtracting the rough estimate for our draft class that leaves us with $6,932,000.00 to fill out the active roster and sign a stud WR.

 

[MW49ers5]

So taking out the extra 200k for Goldson and subtracting the rough estimate for our draft class that leaves us with $6,932,000.00 to fill out the active roster and sign a stud WR.

Ray the GM... You go Ray! Just get us back to the playoffs is all I ask

 

[Ray_Dogg]

49 players on the roster. 7 draft picks possibly replace 7 of the following:
Ginn, Snyder, Morgan, Costanzo, Spillman, Rachal, Grant, Norris, Reggie Smith, Justin Peelle, Gooden, Madieu Williams, Swain, Brock, Tukuafu.

So choose three of the above, 1 free agent WR, and spend under $7 million.

 

[TheNinerMind]

Vincent Jackson is sure to be franchised. I'd probably toss a 1st for him. I wouldn't be shocked if we used a 1ST on a rb though.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

If we used a first on a RB then canning Gore would be huge for free agency spending.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Looks like the Manninghams or Meachems for us.

 

[NinerSickness]

The strategy I think the Niners should employ hasn't changed one bit despite the surprising play this year. It's no secret I didn't think the Niners had the talent & depth to win a SB; I was REALLY hoping they'd prove me wrong.

I want Luck, Peyton or CK to be the QB next year. I agree that Alex will probably be the starting QB for a long time. I don't agree with that thinking, but I know it's the most realistic scenario (let's leave it at that as far as the QB situation is concerned).

I don't agree signing Goldson toa big cobtract would be a good idea. He's not a difference maker like Antrel Rolle is for the Giants IMO. I also don't like ca$hing in on a player with a bunch of interceptions as the basis of his contract. Also I think he'd be a better SS than FS. JMO. If another team offers a big contract I'd let him walk.

Same thing with Rogers. I'd love to have him back, but not for a contract like the one Cromartie got. My #1 priority would be to re-sign Brooks for 3 or 4 years. The strength of the team is the front 7 not the DBs...

I also disagree with letting Rachal walk. I think he's the ultimate "buy low" kind of player. He won't get starter money, but he could be a useful backup; and like I've said before I want him to learn the C position.

I'd still trade Gore & Justin Smith if the opprotunity came to do so. JMHO. I've written at length about why.

The best option at WR could be Desean Jackson IMO. Many disagree with that; I wrote about why in my "The Buy Low Strategy" thread. I'd draft a high ceiling type of WR, as well, to compete with Crabby.
By the way: Anyone who says not to sign Desean because of character issues but is open to signing Vincent Jackson is thinking very backwards.

C & RG are huge needs IMO; I'd love the Niners to draft one of each. I'd cut Goodwin; he was bad & he's getting old. The Saints were wise to let him go. Konz is just about tops on my realistic draft wish list.

Some FA's I'd consider: Desean, Tyler Brayton (been calling for him for a couple of years now), Robert Mathis, Chad Henne, Robert Meachem (not for a lot of money though), Corey Redding, Manny Lawson (cheap???), Vernon Carrey, & a long list of possible RBs...

I wouldn't be entirely opposed to the possibility of signing the guy McBoozehound should've drafted in 2008 (Carl Nicks) if he's not tagged, but I wouldn't get into a bidding war over him. 2 reasons: The OL would be ridiculous, and it weakens a likely NFC SB contender.

 

[Flyingiguana]

for a team in the nfc championship game and the #2 seed we have a ton of holes going into the offseason, even assuming we resign a good chunk of our guys. we basically can only make like one big free agent signing. wr or cb look like the best places to spend money this year.

QB
smith is a lock to come back, i think he'll take a bit less to stay in what looks like a great situation for him. i'd like to see another qb brought in to develop alongside kap. henne wouldn't be a bad choice but i'm a lot higher on clausen. but i wouldn't spend much on a trade, maybe in a year the panthers would be more willing to trade him for a 5th.

RB
i would like to draft a rb like jonas gray who i think can take over for gore within a couple years. but we're pretty stacked at rb with a good combination of 3 guys

WR
a spot where we basically need to bring in a starter along with resigning morgan. if crabtree ends up our #3 i think that will be great. ginn needs to be back or we should go after eddie royal. special teams is critical given the way harbaugh runs this team. even if we make the free agent moves noted above, we can still bring in a 1st or 2nd rounder if the draft shapes up that way. maybe fuller in the 2nd would be good value.

TE
we really could use a red zone target for our double TE sets. john carlson could be a cheap pick up that pays big dividends. in the draft dwayne allen in the 1st looks like an absolute stud.

OL
kick the big girl to the curb. i'd like to bring back snyder and maybe pick up another vet that can play guard or tackle. peter konz is who i really want in the draft. he could step in from day 1 and help protect the pocket from collapsing up the middle.

DL
we need depth badly

LB
i'd like brooks back, if not we might be in a position to replace him in the draft. i'm thinking zach brown, who could fit in pretty well and would allow willis to possibly blitz more.

DB
even with rogers back i wouldn't be against using our big free agent signing on grimes. rogers as a #2 would be amazing, especially considering the passing offenses we need to get through. but i think we're fine with rogers, brown and culli. i'm expecting culli to take big steps next year.

safety is a problem. i don't really see much out there to replace goldson if he leaves and i don't like whitner as the full-time SS. he's weak in pass coverage, especially with how our d plays. if he was used more like tim mcdonald i wouldn't mind, but i hate seeing him in man coverage.

 

[crash]

49 players on the roster. 7 draft picks possibly replace 7 of the following:
Ginn, Snyder, Morgan, Costanzo, Spillman, Rachal, Grant, Norris, Reggie Smith, Justin Peelle, Gooden, Madieu Williams, Swain, Brock, Tukuafu.

So choose three of the above, 1 free agent WR, and spend under $7 million.

The following players need to be re-signed

Morgan

Costanzo

spillman

alex smith

snyder

ginn- if we can't sign ginn...i'd love for the 49ers to draft Kendall wright from baylor

Brock

let the rest of them walk....they can be replaced

 

[EaseUrStorm]

We do still have Nate Byham on the roster. There were some who considered him already one of the better blocking TEs in the league. I think we give him a shot at the roster. We kept Moran Norris on the roster this year, so there's certainly room for an extra blocker.

I'll be very surprised if Byham doesn't make the roster next year.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

Dixon hurt us badly in that game and came up short with a golden opportunity to change the game. He's completely expendable and I put about no value on him. We need to add a FA or a mid round RB to overtake him. I wouldn't even mind carrying an extra FB to compete with Miller if he's good in short yardage situations. That type of player adds more value to this team than Dixon because when Miller goes down, we have to supplement our entire offense.

 

[Flyingiguana]

Dixon hurt us badly in that game and came up short with a golden opportunity to change the game. He's completely expendable and I put about no value on him. We need to add a FA or a mid round RB to overtake him. I wouldn't even mind carrying an extra FB to compete with Miller if he's good in short yardage situations. That type of player adds more value to this team than Dixon because when Miller goes down, we have to supplement our entire offense.

dixon didn't have a chance. justin smith got pushed aside and that blew up the play.

 

[imac_21]

I agree with all of the above. The few things I would add is cutting Spencer to free up $3.3 Million in cap space.

(Now if additional wiggle room is needed to sign a difference maker)

That leaves two possibilities to free up cap space but those have caveats. Goodwin and Sopoaga.

Sopo- We might want to sign to an extension and lower his cap number next year since it will be the last year of his deal and he's set to pull in $4.95 mill. Cutting him outright would give us about $3.8 million in space but we could only do that if we believed in RJF and a cheaper FA/draft pick to fill his void.

Goodwin- If we cut him outright I assume that accelerates the two remaining years of his signing bonus into next season's cap. That would result in a total cap savings of $2,383,333. This also requires having a cheaper replacement player.

Cutting Spencer goes without saying. He's gone. I can't help but wonder if things would have been different if he was active Sunday. Would he have come in over Brock when Brown got hurt, and would his experience have allowed him to stop the 3rd and 15 TD.

He's still got to go though.

Sopoaga I think we have to keep. He fits very well in what we're doing on defense. I'm not sold on RJF at all, but if we cut Sop, we need to commit to replacing him. I don't think there's any benefit in cutting him.

Same for Goodwin (McKittrick award winner). I think he has to stay because if he's gone, who plays center? It also creates two spots we have to address on the interior OL as we NEED to address RG.

 

[imac_21]

We do still have Nate Byham on the roster. There were some who considered him already one of the better blocking TEs in the league. I think we give him a shot at the roster. We kept Moran Norris on the roster this year, so there's certainly room for an extra blocker.

I completely forgot about Byham, but with how frequently we used Sopoaga and Boone at TE, I would rather not dress a TE as what is essentially an extra OL.

I think having a 3rd TE active hurt us this year. We only activated 4 WR, 4 CB, 3 OLB and 5 DL this year. I'd rather activate another player at one of those spots than a 3rd TE. I do accept that we likely didn't have a WR or OLB that warranted being active, but I think we would have been better served with Spencer or Ian Williams active than Justin Peele most games. Particularly Spencer with how much the league has gone towards the passing game and how much pressure we could develop with just our front 4 in sub packages with Smith, Smith McDonald and Brooks.

 

[imac_21]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add Frank Gore. This would be the most ruthless but since he doesn't have any remaining signing bonus left cutting him would result in a $4,350,000 savings.

What about his extension? Wouldn't he bring a fair bit of dead money?

 

[imac_21]

(Cutting Spencer but not Dixon)

So some ballpark numbers here. I honestly have no clue on Brooks.
10 for Alex
6.2k for Goldson assuming he gets tagged
8 for Rogers
5 for Brooks
$4,018,945.00 rough estimate for draft class of 7 players around 30th pick each round.

That brings us up to 49 players with $6,932,000.00 of cap left.

The structure of the contracts would affect the overall numbers though. If Alex averages 10M per year, it likely won't be 10M in year 1 (it might be more, might be less). Ditto for Rogers. We can get creative with the structure of the contracts.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

What about his extension? Wouldn't he bring a fair bit of dead money?

No. We can cut him now and be free of any dead money.