Many teams have made offseason splashes, with most of the moves coming during NFL free agency. The San Francisco 49ers were heavily featured throughout free agency, but mostly because they lost so many former players to other teams.
The 49ers lost 17 free agents in all, and Brock Purdy‘s upcoming contract extension may have been the biggest reason why.
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San Francisco 49ers let 17 free agents leave with Brock Purdy’s payday in mind
Recently, San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York addressed the media after what’s been an interesting offseason for the franchise.
Multiple fan favorites have departed, including Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw, and Talanoa Hufanga. In a world without salary caps, the 49ers likely would have made a stronger effort to keep their star talent. Yet, they seem to be prioritizing their one-time Pro Bowl quarterback instead.
Yet, York seemed to place part of the blame on needing to save enough money to pay their franchise quarterback.
“When you’re in a world where everybody is watching the NFL the first week of free agency or at least the first few days of free agency, it’s a frenzy. … When you’re not overly active in that space, it gets easy to say, ‘Oh, you don’t want to win.’ … I don’t know that, as we looked at the board, that there was somebody that we felt made that type of an impact more so than making the decision to try to go pay Brock.”
49ers owner Jed York on team’s free agency losses
York went on to call Purdy a top-10 quarterback, and pretty soon, Mr. Irrelevant will have a contract that reflects his status. Meanwhile, the 49ers have to continue finding ways to remain competitive, now that they’ll have an expensive quarterback instead of the NFL’s biggest bargain.
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