San Francisco 49ers: 3 potential cap casualties in 2019

OT Garry Gilliam

Yes, that’s how irrelevant Garry Gilliam has been since he signed with the 49ers — there isn’t even a decent picture of him in a San Francisco jersey available. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic but you get my point.

The 49ers re-signed Gilliam to a two-year, $7.75 million deal in 2018 after he proved to be a decent fill-in option over his first few years in the league. Now set to count $5 million against the cap in 2019, it makes almost no sense to keep him around as an overpriced backup who hasn’t been anything more than okay when called upon to see significant snaps.

Even this past season, Gilliam failed to convince the 49ers to let him see the field regularly. Playing only 84 offensive snaps, his presence was fairly pointless. Heck, he played nearly as much special teams as he did offensive tackle. San Francisco is not going to pay $5 million in 2019 for a special teamer and backup tackle.

That’s why Gilliam is as likely as any to be shown the door. Cutting him loose creates zero dead cap space, which is an added bonus. More importantly, though, it gives the 49ers even more financial flexibility when 2019 NFL free agency rolls around.

The 49ers can easily find a similarly talented backup tackle on the open market for a fraction of the price. Unless he agrees to take a significant pay cut, Gilliam is as good as gone.