San Francisco 49ers New GM Getting Right Down to Business

In his first offseason on the job, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has thrown himself right into the action.

John Lynch has been on the job as San Francisco 49ers’ general manager for just over a month, but he’s making an immediate impact on the team as free agency opens. The team cut wide receiver Torrey Smith and safety Antoine Bethea earlier this week, while quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract to leave exactly zero quarterbacks on the 49ers’ roster.

Smith, the former Baltimore Raven, was two disappointing seasons into a five-year deal, while Bethea was three years into a four-year contract. The safety was one of the 49ers’ better defenders over the past few season, including earning a Pro Bowl bid in 2014, but was determined to not be a good fit for the new defensive scheme. Those two moves added even more money to an already massive chunk to be spent this offseason, bringing their total up to $99 million in cap space.

With all that money to play with, Lynch got right to work on Wednesday. The 49ers agreed to deals with four players, all on the offensive side, in an effort to improve an offense that was one of the worst in the NFL last season.

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The team signed a pair of wide receivers to a group that desperately needed revamping, bringing in Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin. Last year, the 49ers had only one receiver make at least 50 catches and rack up more than 500 yards, with Jeremy Kerley grabbing 64 balls for 667 yards.

Garcon is entering his 10th NFL season, spending the first four with the Indianapolis Colts and the past five with the Washington Redskins. He has caught 564 passes in his career worth 7,068 yards and 37 scores. In 2013, he set Washington’s franchise record with 113 receptions, passing Hall of Famer Art Monk‘s 106.

Goodwin, a third-round pick in 2013, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Buffalo Bills. He’s caught 49 balls for 780 yards, with six touchdowns on his ledger. In 2016, he set career-highs with 29 catches and 431 yards, and matched his career-best with three scores. Goodwin is a burner, running a 4.27 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and competing for the United States’ Olympic team as a long-jumper. In new head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, Goodwin could have a similar role to the one Taylor Gabriel had in the Atlanta Falcons’ scheme.

While it’s still unclear who will be throwing the ball to those players once the season begins, the 49ers did put a quarterback on the roster on Wednesday. Brian Hoyer, an eight-year veteran, agreed to a two-year deal. Hoyer had a very nice, albeit quite abbreviated season with the Chicago Bears last year, completing 67 percent of his passes (134-200) for 1,445 yards, while throwing six touchdowns without an interception. He played in only six games (five starts) before suffering a broken non-throwing arm that ended his season in week seven.

The final piece of the offensive puzzle from Wednesday’s spending spree was a fullback, another former Baltimore Raven Kyle Juszczyk. Entering his fifth season and still just 25 years old (26 in April), Juszczyk has developed into one of the NFL’s best fullbacks.

He earned his first Pro-Bowl bid last season, and has caught 97 passes for 769 yards and five touchdowns over the past three seasons. He has only seven carries as a runner, but is an impact blocker for his position. The expected four-year, $21 million deal will be the biggest contract ever given to a fullback. Juszczyk is one of the more versatile and athletic fullbacks, so he could end up having a big role in the 49ers’ offense as more than a run blocker.

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There are still plenty of holes to fill, and the 49ers have plenty of money with which to fill them. Lynch is off to a great start, making up for his lack of experience with a ton of ambition. If Wednesday’s action is any indication, the 49ers are in pretty good hands for the foreseeable future.