2024 season: 6-11, fourth in NFC West, missed playoffs

Overview: The offseason of Brock Purdy has arrived. The 49ers failed to secure a Super Bowl title during the discount window of Purdy’s rookie contract (four years, $3.7 million). As he approaches the final year of that deal, Purdy is due one of the biggest pay raises in league history.

The 49ers are fully expected to give him that raise. So how big of a raise will Purdy secure? Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1M), Trevor Lawrence ($55M), Jordan Love ($55M) and Jared Goff ($53M) have all signed recent extensions in excess of $53 million annually, while Dak Prescott broke the bank with a $60 million annual salary with the contract he signed in September.

Where Purdy falls on that spectrum will be up to him and the 49ers, but he won’t come cheap after leading his team to a Super Bowl and two NFC championship games in his first three seasons as a pro. There’s plenty more to address in a critical 49ers offseason, but everything else is secondary to Purdy.

Key free agents

CB Charvarius Ward
LG Aaron Banks
LB De’Vondre Campbell
LB Dre Greenlaw
RB Jordan Mason (restricted)
S Talanoa Hufanga

Who’s in/out: Greenlaw and Hufanga are key defenders who each come with extensive injury histories. Greenlaw missed most of 2024 with an Achilles tear, while a wrist injury and recovery from an ACL tear limited Hufanga this season. The 49ers will have a lot to consider when calculating each player’s future with the team.

The 49ers signed cornerback Deommodore Lenoir to a $92 million extension in November that could make Ward less of a priority. Given Christian McCaffrey’s injury history and Mason’s performance in his stead in 2024, the 49ers surely would like to retain Mason. The price may ultimately prove too high to match, and Mason could net San Francisco valuable draft capital in return as a restricted free agent.

Key free-agent needs

Offensive line
Defensive line/pass rush
Running back

Why the holes? The 49ers need upgrades on both lines after deficiencies in the trenches played a big role in their disappointing 2024 season. If Banks walks in free agency, that’s one more hole that they’ll have to fill up front in addition to potential upgrades at center and right tackle alongside an aging Trent Williams.

The 49ers ranked in the bottom third of the league in sacks in 2024 and need a young playmaker opposite of Nick Bosa.

Do they have the money?

The 49ers enter the offseason with an estimated $44 million in salary cap space, the 12th most in the NFL, per Spotrac. Purdy’s presumed deal will eat up a significant portion of that space.

Notable potential cuts

WR Deebo Samuel Sr.
DT Javon Hargrave

Why they might be gone: Samuel, who turns 29 in January, is approaching the third year of a three-year, $71 million contract that he’s no longer playing up to. Plus he he wants a change of scenery. The 49ers have invested elsewhere at wide receiver in Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. If they can’t find a trade partner, either keeping or cutting Samuel would have significant salary cap implications, and the 49ers will be in a bind to figure out the best option.

Hargrave, 31, is not the same player he was when the 49ers signed him to a four-year, $84 million contract as a free agent in 2023, and the 49ers restructured his deal to create a potential out in June. He and Samuel are part of a trend of high-priced aging players the 49ers hoped would have helped lead them to a Super Bowl title by now.

Draft picks

1st round: No. 11
2nd round: No. 43
3rd round: No. 75
3rd round (compensatory)
4th round
4th round (compensatory)
4th round (compensatory)
6th round
7th round (from Panthers)
7th round (from Cardinals)
7th round (compensatory)

Good draft fit

Kelvin Banks Jr, OL, Texas

Why him? There will be competition for left guard Aaron Banks in free agency. Right tackle Colton McKivitz is due to play on the second year of a two-year, $4.6 million contract; the 49ers should be considering a long-term upgrade at the position. And Trent Williams isn’t getting any younger. Banks is one of the top linemen in the draft and can play inside and out in multiple spots on the offensive line. He’d be an ideal fit in San Francisco.

Tracking the recoveries of Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk will also be important, but the possibility of Deebo Samuel Sr. leaving would be a major needle-mover. The 49ers have a potential out this offseason, and there would be major ramifications should Samuel get traded or released. George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall would get significant fantasy boosts if San Francisco moves on from Samuel during the offseason. —Dalton Del Don