The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[burgold]

San Francisco's smokin' somethin'. No one's going to trade for Aiyuk and take on that contract. He's too high risk. For a long time, many of us were squeamish about signing him at all because of health and other questions. This is just petty punitive behavior. Because of the shape of our WR room, I'm okay with giving Aiyuk a chance but I think he's got a greater chance to bust than resume his star status. It's tough to come back after a year and a half of inactivity and that's if everything goes well.

49ers are doing Aiyuk and Peters dirty.

 

[Dlts20]

Walker. Literally this year.

And that was my point. Walker is clearly the better player yet he got 3 years, 43mil with a 27mil guarantee.

Pierce gets 4 years, 114 mil with 84mil guaranteed.

That's why people go for WR with high draft picks. Oweh got 100mil from us at another premium position. It's going to be hard to overlook that, no matter how good you think that Love is.

Someone told me "that's if those WR are equal to Love but a lot of us don't think that these guys will be Chase".

Well do you think that any of these guys can be Pierce because he's even breaking the bank and would have gotten more from us.

 

[Canuck]

As Rams considered trading for A.J. Brown, they explored trading Davante Adams

The Rams recently had trade talks with the Eagles for receiver A.J.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Discobob]

If they bring back Hartman it’s either because

1. Jayden said he would quit if they didn’t bring back his buddy

2. Hartman has blackmailed Peters in some way

That’s the only 2 reasons I can think of which make any sense why he would be on the roster again.

3. Sales of the teams swimsuit calendar

 

[MartinC]

If they bring back Hartman it’s either because

1. Jayden said he would quit if they didn’t bring back his buddy

2. Hartman has blackmailed Peters in some way

That’s the only 2 reasons I can think of which make any sense why he would be on the roster again.

Stating the obvious but Hartman has no business being in an NFL training camp let alone on a practice squad.

 

[burgold]

3. Sales of the teams swimsuit calendar

4. The average age of the team looked better with Hartman on the roster than the 40 year old Josh Johnson.

 

[Dah-Dee]

San Francisco's smokin' somethin'. No one's going to trade for Aiyuk and take on that contract. He's too high risk. For a long time, many of us were squeamish about signing him at all because of health and other questions. This is just petty punitive behavior. Because of the shape of our WR room, I'm okay with giving Aiyuk a chance but I think he's got a greater chance to bust than resume his star status. It's tough to come back after a year and a half of inactivity and that's if everything goes well.

49ers are doing Aiyuk and Peters dirty.

Yeah, Aiyuk is trying to come back from a torn ACL *and* LCL, the screenshots/vids of the play he got injured are kind of gruesome. knee is not supposed to bend that way. We've really heard nothing about his current condition, how close he might be to fully healed. Just some vague comments about working out. Keim suggested that when he finally becomes available, the contract will probably be for one year and less than $10M, which seems about right for somebody with his All-Pro pedigree but coming back from such a serious injury.

There's just no way anybody (!) is trading for that contract (2027 cap number: $41M!!) (2028: $43M!!) after that injury and him being off the field for almost 2 years by the time he gets into camp. Especially with Aiyuk being a guy who relies not on straight-line speed but instead his elite route-running - which means a lot of sharp planting and cutting on that repaired (?) knee.

By releasing Aiyuk with a post-June 1 designation, 49ers will gain $33M in cap savings for 2027 and $35M in 2028, in addition to the modest $6M cap savings for 2026. So they've got around $75M in financial motivation (and a $75M swing in cap space for just 2027!) to just close the book on Aiyuk. If they're intent on punishing him, I suppose they'll just continue with the flimsy 'trade' facade (although they've reportedly been trying to trade him for months, unsurprisingly with no takers) and wait until after the draft to cut him, but if they delay any longer than that I'd imagine the NFLPA will go after them (rightfully so), especially since Lynch has repeatedly and emphatically said publically that Aiyuk will never play for SF again.

It appears that technically SF could wait until June 1 to designate Aiyuk as a post-June 1 release (at which point he is free to sign elsewhere) and still get the 2026 cap savings. Seems to me it makes SF, and Lynch specifically, look petty and unprofessional, not a good look to prospective FA signings among many others.

 

[DWinzit]

Yeah, Aiyuk is trying to come back from a torn ACL *and* LCL injury, the screenshots/vids of the play he got injured are kind of gruesome. knee is not supposed to bend that way. We've really heard nothing about his current condition, how close he might be to fully healed. Just some vague comments about working out. Keim suggested that when he finally becomes available, the contract will probably be for one year and less than $10M, which seems about right for somebody with his All-Pro pedigree but coming back from such a serious injury.

There's just no way anybody (!) is trading for that contract (2027 cap number: $41M!!) after that injury and him being off the field for almost 2 years by the time he gets into camp. Especially with Aiyuk being a guy who relies not on straight-line speed but instead his elite route-running - which means a lot of sharp planting and cutting on that repaired (?) knee.

By releasing Aiyuk with a post-June 1 designation, 49ers will gain $33M in cap savings for 2027 and $35M in 2028, in addition to the modest $6M cap savings for 2026. So they've got around $75M in financial motivation to just close the book on Aiyuk. If they're intent on punishing him, I suppose they'll just continue with the flimsy 'trade' facade and wait until after the draft to cut him, but if they delay any longer than that I'd imagine the NFLPA will go after them (rightfully so).

Agreed.

The Niners are kind of doing Aiyuk dirty but really he has also done them dirty. Their relationship has been ugly over the past year.

Peters needs to figure into the WR equation that Aiyuk will not be available until after June 1st. They need to make another WR move with hopes of Jennings and at a minimum pick 71 and perhaps Deebo. I hate the idea of "needing" a WR at pick 71

Perhaps they back out to Jennings with a larger contract offer

 

[Dah-Dee]

Perhaps they back out to Jennings with a larger contract offer

I really think the Titans restructured Calvin Ridley yesterday specifically to create room for signing Jennings, a Tennesse native who played for the Volunteers and knows Saleh from his time in SF. In addition, new Titans OC Daboll tried to trade for Jennings mid-season last year with the Giants. I'm not sure there's a whole lot Washington can do if Jennings wants to play for the Titans as rumored. Titans actually appear to have more cap space left than Commanders.

 

[Conn]

I think it’s pretty obvious that SF is using the “cover” of pretending they think they can extract even a 7th round pick for that contract in order to justify holding him in limbo for as long as possible. It’s only awkward for them in the media, it’s not like he’s around the facility at all. Otherwise it’s pretty much out of sight, out of mind and they don’t reward a malcontent shit head that they have beef with.

They don’t respect the player and don’t want to give him what he wants, and they want to see him beeline here and have any amount of success even less.

The only thing that’ll prevent the full tantrum-mode tampering allegations from coming out of SF after he signs here eventually will be their relationship with AP. Otherwise they’d probably make some noise (fruitlessly, but embarrassingly).

 

[Dah-Dee]

Out of interest, for those who want us to go for Jennings, what kind of deal do you think he is worth, based on the WR market so far in FA ?

I think he's going to get AAV of $20-25M because of his package of skills - elite blocking, elite contested catch rate. My guess is he wants a 4-year deal like others have gotten this year (Pierce, Doubs, Robinson). Thing is, Jennings is around 3 years older than that trio of 25-year-olds, so I'm also guessing clubs have been offering 2-3 years. I think he'll either get 3/75 or, if enough clubs are involved, maybe 4/85. He's going to get more than he should because 2026 has turned into a lucrative FA year for WRs.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I think it’s pretty obvious that SF is using the “cover” of pretending they think they can extract even a 7th round pick for that contract in order to justify holding him in limbo for as long as possible. It’s only awkward for them in the media, it’s not like he’s around the facility at all. Otherwise it’s pretty much out of sight, out of mind and they don’t reward a malcontent shit head that they have beef with.

They don’t respect the player and don’t want to give him what he wants, and they want to see him beeline here and have any amount of success even less.

The only thing that’ll prevent the full tantrum-mode tampering allegations from coming out of SF after he signs here eventually will be their relationship with AP. Otherwise they’d probably make some noise (fruitlessly, but embarrassingly).

I honestly have not followed all the stories on this topic because I really didn’t care, like for the last 2 years.

So I’m not entirely sure what happened.

But I think SF either needs to actually just move on and cut him or figure out how to bring him back into the fold.

This petty stuff is just generally bad for busienss.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I really thought I saw a tweet that Jennings signed somewhere.

That apparently isn’t true.

So there is still a chance we could get him. However if I remember he was difficult last year in negotiations also. I’m not sure how much Peters wants to try an negotiate with difficult WRs…

 

[skinsinparadise]

Watched some Jerome Ford including refereshing myself with his college performances.

I am not blown away but I think he's the best back on the team by half a peg or so. And I wanted Rachaad White. And also wanted them to draft Croskey-Merritt.

Ford stylistically lol reminds me of Jeremiyah Love -- of course a poor man's version of him. Very poor man's version. Ford IMO is decent. Love is a stud.

But he plays in that Love style IMO as to his attributes

A. Quick acceleration -- which is Love's superpower IMO
B. Breakaway speed
C. Good hands and can catch in stride without slowing down which makes him dangerous in the backfield.

Vision IMO ok, not special. He is just ok breaking tackles. Not a lot of east-west wiggle. He's a one cut and go guy. More straight line speed but plenty of it.

Why is he IMO better than Croskey-Merritt? A bit more of a controlled runner, better homerun ability (not by a ton but a half a peg or so) and much better hands,

Why is he IMO better that Rashaad White? I think his hands are as good or close enough and he's a better north-south runner.

 

[Canuck]

If healthy, Ford will surprise, he has always produced when given a shot.

He's not a 20 carry type, but in a committee he can be very effective.

Will be inetresting to see how he plays in an offense more competant than what he had in CLE

 

[KDawg]

Walker. Literally this year.

Yup. All three. And we didn’t get them, either. Not sure why we are allergic to good backs and receivers. But more receivers hit FA than RBs and we have a chance at a generational one if he’s on the board. Passing on him because he isn’t premium is wild, imo.

 

[bird_1972]

Absolutely no chance they trade him within the division - or that we give up what I assume they would want in a trade.

No way I'd want the AJ Brown headache. Plus, his game doesn't age well.

 

[DWinzit]

Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year contract with TE Dallas Goedert.

 

[bird_1972]

Yup. All three. And we didn’t get them, either. Not sure why we are allergic to good backs and receivers. But more receivers hit FA than RBs and we have a chance at a generational one if he’s on the board. Passing on him because he isn’t premium is wild, imo.

I really want Love (or Syles) if either of them are there at 7, but I really don't think that's gonna happen.

 

[KDawg]

I really want Love (or Syles) if either of them are there at 7, but I really don't think that's gonna happen.

I think it’s possible one of them is there.

But I don’t think they both will be.