With quarterback Brock Purdy’s contract extension likely getting done this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers will need to start adjusting their finances to accommodate a high-dollar QB contract on their books.
Those changes will start this offseason with some free agents potentially getting priced out of what the 49ers are able to afford over the next handful of years. We may also see a handful of cuts made to help manage the team’s cap.
Over the Cap listed six 49ers who could exit as cap casualties during the 2025 offseason, and it includes a couple staples of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.
Here are the six players:
FB Kyle Juszczyk
Juszczyk already took a paycut last offseason and releasing him would mean a fundamental change in how the 49ers’ offense operates. Unless they draft a replacement for him this year. Perhaps Shanahan is ready to move on from his ultra-reliable fullback as he enters his age 34 season. Juszczyk in 2024 posted three total touchdowns – his most since 2020 – and made his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl.
WR Deebo Samuel
This could get a little weird with Samuel. General manager John Lynch said the team expects to retain Samuel in the final year of the three-year contract he signed in 2022. He had a down year in 2024 and cutting him as a post June 1 release would save them a little money in 2025. However, they’d likely try to explore a trade first if they were hellbent on letting go of the 29-year-old receiver.
WR Jauan Jennings
Cutting Jennings after his breakout 2025 campaign would be pretty wild, especially since he’s relatively inexpensive. Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing are question marks entering their second seasons, Samuel may be on the wrong side of his prime and Brandon Aiyuk’s return from a knee injury may take some time. The 49ers need good players at WR, and Jennings proved he fits that bill with 975 receiving yards in 2024.
DL Maliek Collins
San Francisco needs to overhaul its defensive line and Collins had a nice year in 2024. Cutting him wouldn’t save the 49ers much and it would leave a significant hole in the middle of their defensive line.
DL Yetur Gross-Matos
It’ll be interesting to see if the 49ers run it back with Gross-Matos, who had a disappointing year after signing a two-year deal last offseason. He suffered a knee injury in the preseason and tried to battle through it before landing on IR. He fits the mold of the versatile defensive end who can rush the passer from the interior. But saving nearly $3 million by letting him go may be worth trying to find another option to fill that type of role.
DL Leonard Floyd
Floyd came on strong at the end of the season, but he wasn’t as productive throughout the year as the 49ers may have hoped. They don’t have many defensive end options so Floyd may stick around just out of necessity. If the 49ers want to invest more at DE though, they can save a little less than $2 million by parting ways with the 32-year-old Floyd.
