2. Yetur Gross-Matos, Defensive End
Switching to the other side of the ball, the 49ers could look at cutting veteran defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos this offseason. The 49ers signed the former Carolina Panthers pass rusher to a two-year, $18 million contract last offseason.
It was a shocking move by the 49ers, given that Gross-Matos only had 13 sacks across four seasons with Carolina. However, San Fran’s brass was likely banking on Gross-Matos as a low-risk, high-reward signing, who could bolster this pass rush unit in 2024.
That didn’t happen as Gross-Matos had knee surgery, forcing him to miss five games during the regular season. When the former Penn State standout returned from surgery, he couldn’t give them consistent production off the edge.
Gross-Matos had four sacks in 11 games this past season, but three came in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears. The 27-year-old defensive end also had seven quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback pressures. This isn’t overwhelmingly spectacular for someone who played 54% of defensive snaps this season.
According to PFF, Gross-Matos had a disappointing pass rush grade of 59.4 (ranked 108th out of 211 eligible EDGEs), and was horrible at stopping the run with a 46.6 (ranked 186th among 211 EDGEs).
The 49ers’ front office and coaches likely don’t love those grades, especially with his cap hit jumping up from $3.28 million to $9.65 million in 2025.
Therefore, if the 49ers want to move on from him, the best way could be with a post-June 1 release designation. That would net San Francisco $7.82 million in cap savings, which can be used to find another pass rusher with better upside in free agency.