The 2020 offseason isn’t going to be an easy one for the 49ers. While they try to mostly re-assemble the team that got them to the Super Bowl a season ago, they’ll have some difficult maneuvers to make with the salary cap, including cutting a few players.
Here are 4 players who may be released in order to clear up more cap space:
RB Jerick McKinnon
It’s not out of the question that San Francisco brings McKinnon back. He’s missed the last two seasons after tearing his ACL ahead of the 2018 campaign and suffering a setback prior to the start of last season, but he was brought in to be an integral part of the 49ers’ offense.
There’s a chance the team keeps him outright to contend for the starting running back job. They may also try to redo his deal to make him more affordable after two devastating injuries. However, they could just release him. They’d take a $4 million dead cap hit while saving about $4.5 million.
WR Marquise Goodwin
A change of scenery may be beneficial for both Goodwin and the 49ers. He fell out of the receiver rotation last year before being placed on Injured Reserve in December. He played in just nine games and saw just 40 offensive snaps in his final four contests.
Goodwin has a role in an offense with his blazing speed, and he had a really nice year in 2017 when he posted a career-best 56 catches and 962 yards. He’s been unable to replicate that success since though, and could be on his way out the door while the 49ers try to find more reliable, versatile options at receiver. Cutting Goodwin saves San Francisco about $3.6 million in 2020.
RB Tevin Coleman
Coleman’s future with the team depends a lot on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s confidence in finding an adequate replacement for the veteran running back. If Coleman and McKinnon are both cut, that conceivably leaves Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Jeff Wilson as the only running backs on the roster, assuming Breida and Wilson are both re-signed.
If they believe they can find a player in the draft or free agency to help Mostert shoulder the load for a cheaper price than Coleman’s $4.9 million price tag – they can release Coleman with no dead cap and save the full $4.9 million.
LB Mark Nzeocha
High quality special teams players are valuable, and Nzeocha has been one for the 49ers for the last couple of years. His cap number of $1.5 million isn’t huge, but when teams are maneuvering in the tight spaces the 49ers are in, that additional money can be significant.
Nzeocha can be released with no dead cap. This wouldn’t be a move the 49ers make just to make it though. He’s a valuable contributor, and if they can keep him and his $1.5 million cap hit around, they will.
