After seeing the Seahawks handily dispatch the Broncos in the Super Bowl this month, the 49ers likely felt as if they were a Richard Sherman deflection away from being champions themselves. They’ll aim for a different result next season, but before they do, there are several roster decisions facing the club. Let’s take a look at a few of them….
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com’s Mike Sando takes an in-depth look at Colin Kaepernick‘s next contract with the 49ers. While conventional wisdom dictates that the team would be wise to lock up its quarterback as soon as possible, sources who spoke to Sando didn’t get the impression that San Francisco considers Kaepernick “irreplaceable” yet, suggesting that the club could wait on a new deal. If the two sides do work out an agreement with offseason, Sando expects it to be something in the neighborhood of $45MM for three years.
- Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, safety Donte Whitner and cornerback Tarell Brown are among the 2013 starters who the 49ers would like to re-sign, but none of them appears to be a realistic candidate for the franchise tag, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. While Boldin and Whitner were key contributors in San Francisco this past season, the projected franchise salaries of approximately $11.5MM for receivers and $8MM for safeties are likely a little too pricey for the Niners.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains why using the franchise tag on kicker Phil Dawson isn’t a viable option for the 49ers. Having already been franchised twice, Dawson would be eligible to earn the franchise salary for a quarterback rather than a kicker if he were tagged.