San Francisco 49ers shouldn’t sign Tre Boston, despite rumored interest

The San Francisco 49ers have been connected to free-agent safety Tre Boston for a while now but the time has come and passed for the team to actually sign him.

The San Francisco 49ers were in desperate need of secondary help this offseason — particularly at the safety position. But ultimately, the team’s crop of safeties remains wholly unchanged from last season.

For better or for worse, the 49ers are stuck with what they have on the roster now.

But there is a player somehow still left in free agency that the 49ers have been tied to now for a while, that being safety Tre Boston.

San Francisco has been rumored to be interested in Boston for quite some time now and Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski even predicted this past week that the 49ers would be the team to sign him. But even though it makes sense, there are plenty of reasons for the team to stay away.

Boston is coming off another particularly strong season in which he totaled 79 tackles, three interceptions, and nine pass deflections in 13 games played with the Arizona Cardinals. Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.1 grade which ranked him as the No. 24 safety in the NFL.

Some pretty solid numbers for a player who has played on three different teams over the last three seasons.

And that’s the tricky part that no one seems to be able to answer. Why is it that Boston keeps bouncing around the league on one-year deals signed late in free agency?

He seems to be a pretty solid player by most measures. Sure his tendency to go for the hard-hit rather than wrap up on tackle attempts is frustrating but his sideline-to-sideline athleticism and solid coverage ability should more than make up for his deficiencies.

While some has speculated this is due to attitude concerns, there’s no hard evidence that would suggest that’s true. Besides, it isn’t fair to speculate about a player’s character.

More than likely the reason has to do with a difference in how teams value him and how he values himself.

Boston has been outspoken about the contract that he feels he deserves. In a recent interview with Adam Fisher on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Boston stated that he expects a deal similar in value to the ones that Adrian Amos and Lamarcus Joyner received.

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That would put the value of his contract at around $40 million which is likely more than any team is willing to pay. In that same interview he stated that he has turned down “many, many” contract offers already which would seem to indicate that this is the biggest reason he’s still on the market.

If you’re the 49ers, there’s no sense in overpaying for a safety that they don’t value at a certain price point. It would be wiser to save that extra money and use it towards extensions — namely rising star DeForest Buckner whose asking price will likely only increase from here.

While the options aren’t particularly encouraging, it would be smart to see what they have in some of their younger players rather than signing a veteran like Boston who isn’t a part of the future.

Adrian Colbert struggled last season but performed admirably when healthy back in 2017. Jimmie Ward has flashed in the past when healthy, and even with his lengthy injury history, it’s clear that the 49ers staff still adores him.

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Then there’s last year’s third-round pick Tarvarius Moore who has been moved back to his more natural position at safety. Moore excelled at Southern Miss as a safety and reports are that the 49ers have been impressed with how he’s looked so far.

The 49ers have options — young options. And even if Boston would be a short-term upgrade, is he really what’s going to get this team over the hump and into the postseason?

With an eye on the future — re-signing Buckner and developing their young players — the 49ers would be wise to stay away from Boston and let him sign elsewhere.

They had their chance in the offseason, now it’s time to move on.