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An exodus is taking place in the Bay Area.
The San Francisco 49ers are remaking their roster after a 6–11 season and ahead of a likely massive extension for quarterback Brock Purdy, who can be a free agent after the 2025 season.
On Tuesday, the Niners cut defensive end Leonard Floyd, who had 8.5 sacks in 10 games this past season, which ranked second on the team. He joined a long list of big-name departures, following fullback Kyle Juszczyk (set to be cut), former All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga (joining Broncos) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (traded to the Commanders). Those four are just a sliver of the departures that have marked an overhaul in Santa Clara.
Releasing Floyd carries a hit of $8.6 million in dead money for the Niners, according to Over The Cap, but saves the team roughly $1.5 million in cap space. Juszczyk’s departure leaves behind $2.2M of dead cap, which frees up $4.2 million for the 2025 season. In total, the Niners have roughly $34 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.
The massive roster changes come as team CEO Jed York appears to be more financially-conscious after spending an league-high $334 million in total cash on its 2024 roster to middling results. That was the highest number in the NFL, $3 million ahead of the Browns and more than $100 million ahead of the Raiders, according to Spotrac.
Purdy’s contract extension might require more cap gymnastics. His extension is expected to top more than $50 million per year. The quarterback market shows no sign of slowing, as the Bills recently gave Josh Allen a six-year contract worth $330 million with $250 million guaranteed. Allen’s deal was the second-largest in NFL history behind Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year, $450 million deal with the Chiefs in 2020.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk held out of training camp seeking a better contract and landed a four-year, $120 million contract. He tore his ACL five weeks into the season and the team is reportedly open to trading him this offseason, which would create roughly $28 million in cap space, allowing Purdy’s contract to fit, should it meet estimates. Christian McCaffrey played just four games after his own two-year, $38 million extension.
Niners general manager John Lynch said at the NFL Combine that the team needs to “reset” and “recalibrate” their spending habits.
The Niners’ 2024 season was an outlier compared to previous seasons. The team won 10 or more games from 2021–2023, advancing to the NFC Championship each year and losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Chiefs in 2024.
So far in free agency, eight members of the 2024 49ers have agreed to deals with other teams worth a combined $276 million, including offensive guard Aaron Banks, who agreed to a four-year, $77 million contract with the Packers and linebacker Dre Greenlaw who landed with the Broncos on a three-year, $35 million deal. Hufanga joined him on the Broncos with a three-year, $45 million deal, while cornerback Charvarius Ward left for the Colts, on a three-year deal worth $60 million.
Lynch has said throughout the offseason he wants to sign both Purdy and tight end George Kittle to contract extensions. Purdy was perhaps the most underpaid player in the NFL the past few seasons after emerging as the team’s star quarterback despite being the final pick in the 2022 draft.
Purdy’s rookie deal was slotted $3.7 million over four years with just $77,000 guaranteed. He made less than $1 million his first three seasons despite leading the Niners to the NFC title game as a rookie and the Super Bowl in his second year.
