In the coming days, I’ll be doing brief synopses for each NFL team regarding their current cap situation and offseason approach they should take.
We’ll start with the teams that have the most cap space available, then work our way down to those teams who have less cap space, to those who have work to do to gain cap space.
Each synopsis will look at cap space (or how much over the cap), players under contract, total draft picks, any players with a fifth-year option decision ahead and notes about the most notable free agent, the most likely player cut and the quarterback situation.
We’ll next take a look at the San Francisco 49ers.
Players under contract for 2026: 61
Projected cap space: $43M
Total draft picks: Seven (No. 27 in first)
Most notable free agent: Kendrick Bourne
Most likely roster cut: Brandon Aiyuk (post-June 1 designation)
Fifth-year option decision: None
Quarterback situation: Brock Purdy will be the starter for 2026.
The ideal offseason approach:
The Niners lost multiple key players to injuries in 2025, which may prompt them to try to roll it back with the same roster — especially after they were able to make it to the divisional round of the playoffs.
Even after voiding Aiyuk’s guarantees for 2026, the Niners will need to use the post-June 1 designation when releasing him, because of the pro-rated signing bonus he got in the extension he signed last season.
The Niners have no picks after the fifth round but they are projected to have three picks in the fourth round. If they get the comp picks they are projected to receive, the Niners could trade down from one of those fourth-round spots for extra draft capital on day three.