The NFL’s legal tampering period for free agents opens in a week.
Which is to say that NFL free agency is well underway. No one follows those tampering rules.
The Niners’ first big move of the offseason has already been made, but San Francisco has so much work left to do to rebuild a roster that will require two offseasons worth of work in one.
Upgrades, trades, and big decisions are necessary at nearly every position on the team, but as the Niners head into free agency and, in April, the NFL draft, here are the three burning questions that must be answered in the coming days:
Where, and when, do the 49ers upgrade the defensive line?
• The 49ers need to build a new defensive line this offseason, and that will require a plan of attack that utilizes every route for player acquisition the league allows.
But the question the Niners have to ask going into free agency is what they want to buy and what they want to draft?
Or might the Niners do a bit of both by making a trade for a top defensive end, paying big bucks to a premier player and giving up draft capital in the process?
The last thing the Niners can do is fail to execute whatever plan they choose to make. The Niners cannot need both a starting top defensive tackle and defensive end going into the draft.
And they likely cannot afford to buy starters at both positions in March.
No pressure or anything.
What the Niners should do
Pass on: Myles Garrett and Harold Landry in trades.
Sign: Jeremiah Ledbetter, DT, to two-year, $7 million deal.
Sign: Derek Barnett, DE, to a two-year, $12.5 million deal.
Draft: Both a defensive end and tackle in the first 75 selections.
Can the Niners trust Dre Greenlaw?
• There’s no need to explain what Greenlaw brings to the Niners’ defense. In his limited play this season, he reminded everyone that he brings the juice to the party and takes the Niners’ defense to another — Super Bowl-caliber — level.
If Greenlaw were healthy, the Niners would move money around the books to re-sign him to a market-value deal.
But Greenlaw isn’t healthy. And while that helps the Niners with his cost, it should also give the 49ers serious pause on re-signing him.
Simply put: can the Niners ever trust him to be the same player he was consistently?
That’s a hard sell for me. Remember: the Niners had to shut Greenlaw down after only a few quarters of play because they were concerned he would injure himself following his Achilles repair.
Greenlaw might not be replaceable for the Niners, but that truth might also apply to the post-injury version of the linebacker.
Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money earmarked for Greenlaw — let’s call it $7 million a season — and give it to a younger player?
Specifically, why would the Niners not want to sign 25-year-old Jamien Sherwood if the prices are similar?
It’s not as if defensive coordinator Robert Saleh doesn’t have familiarity with Sherwood — he coached him with the Jets.
If Greenlaw wants to take a serious hometown discount or Sherwood’s price is run up, by all means, sign the veteran.
But all things equal, a defense needing to get younger and faster should choose the younger, faster option here.
What the Niners should do
Sign: LB Jamien Sherwood to a four-year, $31 million deal
Draft: A middle linebacker to backup Fred Warner on Day 3
Can the Niners afford to upgrade at center?
• The Niners have already cut into their once-prodigious salary cap space for this offseason with the trade of Samuel to the Washington Commanders.
(Doesn’t it say a lot that the Niners were willing to take a massive one-year cap hit to trade Samuel to a top contender in the same conference?)
And, as you can see, I don’t think the Niners will skimp on free agency.
After the Samuel trade, the Niners have roughly $30 million in practical salary cap space. That’s before a new Brock Purdy contract, which will probably eat some more. The three suggested contracts would eat roughly half of what’s remaining, with plenty more players to sign.
It makes it much more challenging for the Niners to upgrade at center by going from Jake Brendel — who had a woeful 2024 — to Drew Dalman, who represents something close to an ideal for the Niners and their offense.
Dalman’s market might be too hot for the Niners to land him. He’s almost certainly going to command an eight-figure annual payment.
Seeing as there’s no indication from 4949 that Brendel is on the outs, I seriously doubt the Niners see the value in that. I have a hard time seeing it, too.
What the Niners should do
Pass on: Drew Dalman if there’s a bidding war.
Provide: A legitimate training camp competition between Brendel and 2024 undrafted free agent Drake Nugent.