The 49ers reportedly restructured Javon Hargrave’s contract, making him a likely offseason salary cap casualty.
The San Francisco 49ers have been budgeting their money and salary cap space for what they know will be an expensive and lucrative contract extension for quarterback Brock Purdy this offseason.
While the bulk of Purdy’s new pending deal likely won’t be felt until 2026, perhaps in the range of $50 million-plus, annually, general manager John Lynch and the Niners front office know that money saved now can be earmarked for the signal-caller’s future paychecks.
That means executing some cost-saving measures in the interim.
San Francisco can explore some cap casualties this offseason, and there are plenty of likely candidates.
But, it appears as if Lynch and Co. have already made up their minds about one prominent soon-to-be cap casualty.
Citing sources, Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald reported on Dec. 10 that the 49ers opted to restructure veteran Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave’s contract.
Fitzgerald described the move as such:
“The 49ers reduced Hargrave’s base salary from $19.9 million to $2.1 million, dropping Hargrave’s salary cap number from $28.105 million to $10.305 million in the process. The original cost to cut Hargrave would have been either $24.86 million on the cap or $28.105 million during free agency if using the June 1. This will allow the team to designate Hargraves as a post June 1 release, count for just $10.3 million on the cap during free agency and then have it drop to and have his cap number count for $8.6 million in 2025 if Hargraves is still hurt and defer $17.485 million to 2026.”
The OTC insider also pointed out how the restructure makes Hargrave a prime candidate for an offseason cut with a post-June 1 designation.
Fans may recall how the Niners opted to do something similar with longtime defensive tackle Arik Armstead a year ago, albeit under slightly different circumstances. In Armstead’s case, he was asked about taking a pay cut, and upon refusal, San Francisco released him with a post-June 1 designation.
Teams can use the June 1 benchmark twice any given offseason.
Per OTC, should Hargrave be let go with such a designation, the 49ers would save $2.93 million in 2025 but against a dead-money hit of $7.375 million. However, the cap savings jumps to $22.48 million in 2026 aginst the same dead-money amount as the year before.
It’s not yet clear if OTC updated Hargrave’s contract page in the wake of the restructured deal.
OTC insider also mentions Deebo Samuel as a potential cap casualty
While Hargrave was the focal point of Fitzgerald’s report, it’s worth pointing out he also spoke about wide receiver Deebo Samuel possibly being an offseason cap casualty.
indeed, Samuel’s down year has prompted criticism and further suggestions about the Niners potentially looking to move on, which Fitzgerald capitalized on:
“The 49ers also have the ability to designate Deebo Samuel a post June 1 release next year following a creative restructure of his contract this past March,” Fitzgerald added.
Unlike Hargrave, who has spent the bulk of 2024 on injured reserve with a triceps tear, Samuel has been mostly present on the field but has come nowhere close to replicating his stellar 2021 All-Pro campaign that landed him his own lucrative contract extension the following offseason.
Either way, it’s notable to see both of these expensive players mentioned leading up to what’ll be some tough roster decisions for Lynch and the front office.
