San Francisco 49ers: Recapping the newest free agents
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t completely splash on big free agent names, but got players that fit along nicely. Let’s recap!
The San Francisco 49ers and the rest of the National Football League are wrapping up the first week of NFL Free Agency in 2018.
The 49ers didn’t go out and splash on big money targets just for the heck of signing them because they had the money to do so. Instead, they played free agency smart and brought in players that compliment the team and what they want to do in the future.
We won’t talk about players that the 49ers re-signed or extended, but we’ll only be recapping the new faces that came in.
In total, San Francisco has signed six new players to compete for a roster spot next season.
As many fans in general expected the 49ers to go out and sign guys like Kyle Fuller, Allen Robinson or Malcolm Butler, the 49ers didn’t sign any of them.
The list of players signed by the 49ers so far include: Richard Sherman, Weston Richburg, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Locke, Jeremiah Attaochu, and most recently, Jonathan Cooper.
Other than Sherman, no other player here is a notable, big time performing free agent. Except Richburg was a very good offensive lineman for the New York Giants when he wasn’t injured and was one of the biggest names at the position.
Richard Sherman
Although we have talked about Sherman previously, let’s quickly recap on his signing.
Playing the imperative role of his own agent, Sherman and the 49ers front office got a deal done rather quickly.
A three-year, $39 million deal was agreed upon by both parties, with the contract including multiple bonuses shall Sherman play at a high level while healthy.
If you want to read more as to why Sherman will be a good signing for San Francisco, click here.
Weston Richburg
The 49ers brought in center Weston Richburg, formerly from the New York Giants, on a huge five-year, $47,500,000 deal.
Yeah, that is big bucks for a center but he is considered one of the best centers in the league when fully healthy.
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At first, it was a confusing move to bring him in when the 49ers had recently re-signed veteran center Daniel Kilgore, but they then traded Kilgore away. That paved the clearer path for Richburg to a potential starting lineman on this roster.
But if you are getting paid this much as a center, you have to prove you are worth it and all signs point to Richburg being a good deal. Not to forget, he will have Jimmy Garoppolo as his quarterback. Not many better young quarterbacks out there than Jimmy G himself.
Jerick McKinnon
With news breaking out that former 49er running back Carlos Hyde was moving on to join the Cleveland Browns, the 49ers had to find another guy on the market to pair Garoppolo with.
Matt Breida and Joe Williams were already on the roster, but the 49ers needed to bring in more competition for the starting spot.
Dion Lewis was a potential target, but he left New England to become a Tennessee Titan. That left former Minnesota Viking Jerick McKinnon up for grabs and the 49ers were able to land him on a four-year, $30 million deal.
McKinnon is coming off a season in which he racked up career highs in both receiving and rushing, even though he had a limited role.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan must’ve loved what he saw from McKinnon to want to bring him here and every 49er fan should have complete trust in this decision. McKinnon as a starter can become very dangerous.
Jeff Locke
In a surprising one-year deal, the 49ers brought in punter Jeff Locke. He’s a five-year veteran and must be here to bring in some competition for current punter Bradley Pinion, who is still under contract.
Having competition is really never a bad thing, so let’s see how this battle turns out.
Jeremiah Attaochu
San Francisco also brought in linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, a defensive player with a lot of pass rush potential.
This move was something we expected, as the 49ers really lacked consistent pass rushing last season and bringing in a guy like Attaochu could bring in that consistency they so desperately need.
Attaochu was signed on a one-year, $3 million deal. He could prove to be a great bargain if he makes the roster for the 2018-19 season.
Jonathan Cooper
The most recent signing was offensive guard Jonathan Cooper. He was a member of the Dallas Cowboys but has suffered some injury issues recently, too.
John Lynch had this to say about the signing of Cooper: “We look forward to him competing for a starting job at guard, while also bringing a veteran presence to our locker room. Jonathan is a welcome addition to our team.”
It looks like the 49ers have some pretty high expectations for Cooper and considering the 49ers really need some offensive line help, this is a good move.
If Cooper doesn’t perform well, there’s not much to lose but if he does play well, it would be another solid signing for the 49ers.
Next: 49ers Rolling the Dice with McKinnon
With the 2018 NFL Draft still on the way, the 49ers still could make some moves in free agency.
It was a certainly a good first week to build upon for the San Francisco 49ers.