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The finality brought the reality: this time the core 49ers are unlikely to return.
On Monday, a day after finishing a 6-10 season, two 49ers Pro Bowl members choked when they looked to an uncertain future.
Full-back Kyle Juszczyk, a pending free agent, took a moment to pull himself together before discussing the possibility that finances could prevent a return to the squad.
“You got me,” Juszczyk said, his voice breaking. “… Yeah, it hits me a little differently this week.”
And tight winger George Kittle did the same after being asked about quarterback CJ Beathard, his last nine-season teammate dating back to Iowa who is also in the final year of his contract.
“I love this guy,” Kittle said, clearing his throat. “But it’s football. It’s the league. And I learn that, year after year, how different the team is every year.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan, in an end-of-season team meeting via Zoom on Monday, delivered the same message he offered a year ago: The 49ers want to keep the core of a team together after a six-game winning season which can be partly explained by injuries.
However, this year is different from 2020, where they brought back 18 of the 22 starters of their Super Bowl team. The crucial difference is that the 49ers will likely have less salary cap space to keep a squad that includes 34 unrestricted and restricted free agents.
This group includes eight players who would be starters or potential starters next season: Juszczyk, left tackle Trent Williams, goalkeeper Jaquiski Tartt, cornerbacks Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett and K’Waun Williams and defensive linemen. DJ Jones and Kerry Hyder.
The salary cap of $ 198.2 million will drop by an undetermined amount in 2021 due to the loss of income this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Juszczyk said he spoke with Shanahan about the uncertainty caused by the unknown cap figure.
“It’s just kind of a wait and see,” Juszczyk said, “and let some pieces fall into place.”
The reality that some key elements could be elsewhere next season was crystallized on Monday as players such as Juszczyk and Williams praised the team’s culture and talent, but also recalled that money will be a huge motivation. .
Williams, 32, eight-time Pro Bowl draft pick, saw his contract reworked after being traded to the 49ers in April and part of the new deal barred the 49ers from keeping him with the one-year franchise tag.
Williams reiterated on Monday that he preferred to stay with the 49ers. However, he also noted that it was rare for a left tackle of his caliber to reach the free agent market, in large part because teams make sure to keep elite players in a prominent position.
He suggested he would like to test the free market rather than signing an extension with the 49ers before free agency begins in March.
“I’ve never seen a franchise tackle left on the open market,” Williams said. “I’m curious to see what my worth in the league is.”
Meanwhile, Juszczyk, the highest-paid full-back in the NFL, also pitched to other teams after acknowledging that it would be “hard to imagine” not playing in the 49ers’ offense, who takes advantage of his countless skills.
“It’s easy to look around the league and say, ‘You know few other teams deploy a full-back as much as San Francisco,” Juszczyk said. “But I’m going to pat myself on the back and say a little ‘other teams have me. So there is that opportunity, if there is another team that hasn’t got me yet, that they could change the way they use a fullback if I were to be on their team. .
The 49ers, given their finances, could lose free agent battles against players like Verrett and Hyder. They are both seven-year veterans who had not been in demand in the free agent market before, largely due to injuries. However, everyone ultimately intends to cash this offseason after enjoying the best seasons in their career.
“I’ve never been in a free agency situation where I wasn’t just hoping to be part of a team,” Hyder said. “So it will be a different year for me where I won’t be a signing under the radar. I’ll be a guy who’s on top of the market. So I really don’t know what to expect.
General manager John Lynch noted that the 49ers, like the rest of the NFL, expected the salary cap to reach around $ 215 million in 2021 before the pandemic.
“It changes some plans,” Lynch said. “We were built to be sustainable … We were created to keep almost everyone coming back. Now we just need to be a little more creative to do it. I think we will understand some things.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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