The San Francisco 49ers aren’t usually one of the more active teams in free agency in terms of high-profile signings. However, they fly under the radar to an extent with the number of additions they make in free agency. They’ll typically bring in veteran, role players to help supplement the foundation they’ve drafted over the years. While they might not bring in a lot of big names, they don't hesitate to let one of their own free agents walk if his market surpasses their limit. Let’s take a look at what the 49ers have done so far during this free agency period.
When talking about the departures, you have to start with the leading rusher in franchise history, Frank Gore, joining the Indianapolis Colts. Of course the entire fan base, coaching staff and front office wanted him to stay, but only at the right price. But professional sports is focused on paying players for what they will do in the future, not what they've done in the past. Gore was the best running back the 49ers have ever had, but he’s getting older and his skills are diminishing. His role on the field has diminished since they drafted Carlos Hyde in 2014. Gore wanted a little too much money, so the 49ers decided to let him walk.
The 49ers parted ways with wide receiver Stevie Johnson. After failed negotiations to restructure his contract, San Francisco cut Johnson. He was a talented wide receiver, but never had a defined role like General Manager Trent Baalke likes his players to have. Another wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, was allowed to hit free agency. From all reports the 49ers didn’t even discuss a new contract with Crabtree and he has yet to sign with a new team.
Staying on the offensive side of the ball, the 49ers allowed left guard Mike Iupati to test the market. He signed with the division rival Arizona Cardinals rather quickly and it became quite clear why the 49ers weren’t able to reach an agreement with him before free agency. He wanted a lot more money than the 49ers were likely willing to give him. Iupati was consistently one of the best guards in the NFL year after year, but the 49ers couldn’t invest that much money in him with big money already tied up in fellow offensive linemen Joe Staley and Anthony Davis.
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers lost two key members of their secondary; Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver. Both stepped up, especially Cox, in 2014 in a season filled with injuries in the secondary. However, the 49ers have young cornerbacks that the team has a lot of faith in (Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, Kenneth Acker, and Jimmie Ward) and their top cornerback, Tramaine Brock, who was injured basically all of last season. San Francisco lost outside linebacker Dan Skuta to free agency. With Aldon Smith, Ahmad Brooks, Aaron Lynch, and Corey Lemonier on the roster they just weren’t able to pay Skuta what other teams were likely going to offer him.
As for additions, their biggest addition was, without a doubt, wide receiver Torrey Smith. Smith is exactly what the 49ers needed on their offense. With an arm as strong as Colin Kaepernick’s the 49ers have needed a deep threat that will take the top off of a defense. Smith is not only a deep threat, but he has the ability to turn a 5-yard slant route into a 60-yard completion. He’s a dynamic wide receiver, which is an element the 49ers have been missing for years now.
Another dynamic piece to the offense the 49ers brought in was running back Reggie Bush. Bush has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career but when healthy he can be extremely productive. Even when he’s not putting up numbers, he’s someone that a defense has to pay attention to on every single play. What makes the Bush signing such a good signing is his contract. There is very little guaranteed money, which makes it low risk/high reward.
On defense, they brought in former Arizona Cardinal Darnell Dockett. Dockett is a very good defensive end in a 3-4 scheme and will add some much needed depth to their defensive line rotation. Since he’s coming from the Cardinals, he’s extremely familiar with the 49ers’ division opponents already. Also on the defensive side of the ball they added cornerback Shareece Wright and re-signed cornerback Chris Cook. The Wright signing is similar to the Cook signing from last season. His numbers weren’t great but they like the potential in him and think they can get more from him in their defense. Last season it worked for Cook. He had a much better season than he had in Minnesota until it was ended prematurely with a hamstring injury.
The 49ers’ free agency certainly isn’t headlined with major names and huge signings but it’s littered with value signings. And although some people are upset about the players they let walk in free agency, those moves were also about value. Overall, Trent Baalke has done a very good job in free agency thus far and you should expect him to make one or two more moves before the draft.