Why the 49ers Won't be Heavily Active in Free Agency

Free agency tends to be an exciting time, but it will likely end up as a boring phase for the 49ers.

Free agency is one of the best phases of the NFL offseason.

It is a time where a team can improve themselves with either a big name free agent or a handful of key role players. Unfortunately in the case of the San Francisco 49ers, this year's free agency period has a chance to be their most bland one yet.

I do not expect the 49ers to be heavily active in free agency. It all starts with their salary cap space, or lack thereof. As it stands, they are over $3 million above the cap, so they have some work to do to get under it to comply with league rules. Until they do that, their salary cap space will be considered a variable.

However, I don't see how they will manage to free up a ton of cap space to be moderately active in free agency. They will likely end up getting enough space to re-sign a few of their own free agents and bring in a few outside role players. But I don't see how it is possible for them to get a big splash in free agency or even a handful of solid role players.

Besides, the 49ers view themselves as a strong team already and rightfully so. The reason their cap space is up against it right now is because they do have a great array of talented players. That means they don't have too many needs to fixate on during free agency. Really, their only needs are offensive line, defensive end, and cornerback. That needs to be mostly addressed via the draft in April.  

The 49ers will likely add a couple players at one or two of those positions of needs as contingencies. What the 49ers need is for their young players already rostered to blossom next season. Finding fixes in free agency is not meant to be for them in 2024.