The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[RWJ]

It used to be you could sign a player in FA or extend them during the season/offseason on a LTD (5+ years) but now with salaries skyrocketing, deals are being made for 2 and no longer than 4 years.

 

[burgold]

There's an inherent contradiction in what you are arguing.

Your argument has to work both ways. After the 2024 season, this was absolutely the place to be. There was no more positive enviornment in the entire NFL yet it did not help us recruit. In 2026. things are shadier, but the lure of guarenteed money that swayed so many free agents to the god awful Patriots last year will still be equally tempting. Soooo many free agents opted for a bad team with bad prospects last year, but the security was that the team couldn't fire them given the guarenteed money. If the coach got fired (lots of coaches get fired after the first year these days) they were set to outlast the coach. More, we got tons of free agents under Snyder. It was millions if not billions of times worse under Snyder. If your argument carried water then we would have never gotten a free agent with any talent ever from 2006 til he sold the team.

Likewise, NFL players do talk and the talk is still this is a great place to work. The NFLPA report card screams that. Maybe you're right and no one of worth will want to come here. That was the argument being made about the coordinator positions, too, and honestly I don't know based on the hirings if the masses of doom sayers were right or wrong. Did we choose Blough because we wanted Blough (it sure looks that way) or because we couldn't lure anyone else? Is Daronte Jones our DC because it was his only opportunity to ever get his chance to be a DC or because after interviewing a number of candidates this was the guy we liked best (or some combo.) Will we be unable to get a single free agent without paying a huge premium because this is considered such an awful situation or will it come down to money and the potential of Daniels, Quinn's rep, and all the other positives that weigh more?

I don't know but being human is also being hopeful and not endlessly pessimistic. A lot of these players looks at a team a year removed from the NFCCG and think "they need me. I can be the difference." Some will think "Why the eff do I want to be part of a sinking ship?" Honestly, I don't want the latter player. I really don't. I don't want someone who has given up and doesn't think they can be part of the answer.

 

[KDawg]

There's an inherent contradiction in what you are arguing.

Your argument has to work both ways. After the 2024 season, this was absolutely the place to be. There was no more positive enviornment in the entire NFL yet it did not help us recruit. In 2026. things are shadier, but the lure of guarenteed money that swayed so many free agents to the god awful Patriots last year will still be equally tempting. Soooo many free agents opted for a bad team with bad prospects last year, but the security was that the team couldn't fire them given the guarenteed money. If the coach got fired (lots of coaches get fired after the first year these days) they were set to outlast the coach. More, we got tons of free agents under Snyder. It was millions if not billions of times worse under Snyder. If your argument carried water then we would have never gotten a free agent with any talent ever from 2006 til he sold the team.

Likewise, NFL players do talk and the talk is still this is a great place to work. The NFLPA report card screams that. Maybe you're right and no one of worth will want to come here. That was the argument being made about the coordinator positions, too, and honestly I don't know based on the hirings if the masses of doom sayers were right or wrong. Did we choose Blough because we wanted Blough (it sure looks that way) or because we couldn't lure anyone else? Is Daronte Jones our DC because it was his only opportunity to ever get his chance to be a DC or because after interviewing a number of candidates this was the guy we liked best (or some combo.) Will we be unable to get a single free agent without paying a huge premium because this is considered such an awful situation or will it come down to money and the potential of Daniels, Quinn's rep, and all the other positives that weigh more?

I don't know but being human is also being hopeful and not endlessly pessimistic. A lot of these players looks at a team a year removed from the NFCCG and think "they need me. I can be the difference." Some will think "Why the eff do I want to be part of a sinking ship?" Honestly, I don't want the latter player. I really don't. I don't want someone who has given up and doesn't think they can be part of the answer.

There are many motivations for players:

Family, money, taxes, weather, surrounding area, tradition, ability to win, stability are among them.

You’re right that having Jayden Daniels is helpful. It’s probably why we have a chance at some of these guys.

But, this is the NFL… most players aren’t looking at this situation as one where we are just a player away from winning a Lombardi. They’re looking to their agents to do the thinking for them.

 

[method man]

There are many motivations for players:

Family, money, taxes, weather, surrounding area, tradition, ability to win, stability are among them.

You’re right that having Jayden Daniels is helpful. It’s probably why we have a chance at some of these guys.

But, this is the NFL… most players aren’t looking at this situation as one where we are just a player away from winning a Lombardi. They’re looking to their agents to do the thinking for them.

They key one you are missing is relationships with coaches and GMs. BWagz would not have come here if it weren’t for DQ and Norton. Same for Ertz with KK

 

[KDawg]

They key one you are missing is relationships with coaches and GMs. BWagz would not have come here if it weren’t for DQ and Norton. Same for Ertz with KK

Yeah I kind of included that inside the others but it should have been its own. Agree.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

The Payne thing has been discussed to death.

Here’s the problem: if we release or trade him we get about $18m in savings and take an $11m cap hit.

The problem is you can’t sign a Daron level replacement today for $18m.

Daron would probably get more that that on the open market.

If you release or trade him, what you get back will not replace him.

Ergo, just keep him and let him play it out, and then possibly get a comp pick next year.

I’m sure they would prefer to release or trade him but then they open a big hole on the DL and the hole is larger than the cap savings to fill it. If they get a trade, it would be for a mid to late round pick and that probably wouldn’t fill the hole either.

Which is different than Biadacz. They can fill the hole more easily, which is why he’s gone and Payne is not

 

[Chris]

Players are humans. Humans are motivated by many things. Each will make their decisions based on their particular circumstances and desires. We can place our own priorities on things until the cows come home.

 

[Chris]

The Payne thing has been discussed to death.

Here’s the problem: if we release or trade him we get about $18m in savings and take an $11m cap hit.

The problem is you can’t sign a Daron level replacement today for $18m.

Daron would probably get more that that on the open market.

If you release or trade him, what you get back will not replace him.

Ergo, just keep him and let him play it out, and then possibly get a comp pick next year.

I’m sure they would prefer to release or trade him but then they open a big hole on the DL and the hole is larger than the cap savings to fill it. If they get a trade, it would be for a mid to late round pick and that probably wouldn’t fill the hole either.

Which is different than Biadacz. They can fill the hole more easily, which is why he’s gone and Payne is not

The people professionally involved in the Payne situation see value in him. Many of the vocal fans don’t. This concludes my Ted Talk.

 

[ES1974]

The problem is you can’t sign a Daron level replacement today for $18m.

Daron would probably get more that that on the open market

You’d think he’d be looking for a re-up this season to be honest, time for that stand off yet.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

You’d think he’d be looking for a re-up this season to be honest, time for that stand off yet.

Nah. With where he is in his career, he’ll be happy to just play it out and hit FA. He gets $16m cash this year and he’s made $90 mil in his career. His a good, solid player. Not great but good.

He’ll get his money this season and then hit FA next season and that will be fine with everybody.

Peters has said Omar a pressers that they aren’t working on a deal with him, and Standig reported they weren’t giving him a contract 2 weeks before that.

Everybody knows what is going to happen and it’s fine.

 

[SkinsFTW]

Hopefully Payne plays like he did in 2021 or whenever it was he was up for that last contract. A season where Payne puts up 8-10 sacks and is actually disruptive regularly would be a nice bonus.

If he spent his cash like Portis did he might need more. LOL.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Hopefully Payne plays like he did in 2021 or whenever it was he was up for that last contract. A season where Payne puts up 8-10 sacks and is actually disruptive regularly would be a nice bonus.

If he spent his cash like Portis did he might need more. LOL.

I’m sure that’s what Peters is hoping as well.

As much as some reporters wanted to say Payne was in a contract year last year, he wasn’t.

This year he is.

And I hope he balls out and then the Bears pay him a top of the market contract, and he reverts to “good but but not great.”

And we get a sparkling comp pick out of it.

 

[RWJ]

This: At this time, Aiyuk is still under contract to the 49ers. He needs to be officially released. If AP even trades a 7th round pick for Aiyuk, I'm no longer a fan of his. All the teams know that he played his last game with SF after the "last snap "comments from Lynch in January. We need all the draft pick we have to build this team. AP through a 5th round pick to SF last year for a 1 year rental of Deebo.

 

[Primus Porcus]

This: At this time, Aiyuk is still under contract to the 49ers. He needs to be officially released. If AP even trades a 7th round pick for Aiyuk, I'm no longer a fan of his. All the teams know that he played his last game with SF after the "last snap "comments from Lynch in January. We need all the draft pick we have to build this team. AP through a 5th round pick to SF last year for a 1 year rental of Deebo.

He also got a 6th round pick for Brian Robinson, something that isn't talked about a lot on here. He got a 3rd and 2 x 7th round picks for Jahan Dotson and a 5th.

 

[RWJ]

He also got a 6th round pick for Brian Robinson, something that isn't talked about a lot on here. He got a 3rd and 2 x 7th round picks for Jahan Dotson and a 5th.

As well as we should have, Primus. Don't you think AP needs his head examined if we traded a draft pick to SF for him when they will release him eventually.

 

[Primus Porcus]

As well as we should have, Primus. Don't you think AP needs his head examined if we traded a draft pick to SF for him when they will release him eventually.

Who? Deebo?

No he doesn't need his head examined, the move made sense at the time. I reference one of the 'best' GMs in the league giving up what he did for Jahan Dotson. Does he need his head examined too? How about another one of the best GMs in the league giving up a draft pick for Brian Robinson and not extending him either? Not every trade is going to be perfect and work out. There are misses all around the league when it comes to these kind of moves, you just have to take your shots and see if it works (and I would argue Deebo worked BTW, he was never supposed to be what we asked him to be last year because of injury, had he played his actual role, this could have been dynamic)

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Who? Deebo?

I think he was talking about Aiyuk.

And I wouldn’t trade anything for Aiyuk. I don’t think anybody else will either. And I think everybody knows this.

Also, if they trade for Aiyuk, they inherit his contract which would be a terrible move.

I had no problem trading a 5th for what turned out to be our most productive WR in 2025 even if it was a one year rental. The average 5th round player has a career of between 2-3 years as a backup or ST payer. We got a 700 yard receiver for 1 year for a 5th.

Thad fantastic value.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I think he was talking about Aiyuk.

And I wouldn’t trade anything for Aiyuk. I don’t think anybody else will either. And I think everybody knows this.

Also, if they trade for Aiyuk, they inherit his contract which would be a terrible move.

I had no problem trading a 5th for what turned out to be our most productive WR in 2025 even if it was a one year rental. The average 5th round player has a career of between 2-3 years as a backup or ST payer. We got a 700 yard receiver for 1 year for a 5th.

Thad fantastic value.

Ok maybe I read it wrong, but yeah I tend to agree that investing a draft pick in Aiyuk PLUS the contract would be questionable, if that was the point, no argument from me. Peters is far from infallible, so I hope it's not coming across that way, just looking around the league, nobody bats .1000.

 

[Bulldog]

I wish we would cut bait on tagging SF players by the front office.

So far the returns on guys like Kinlaw and Deebo have been meh to OK but we aren’t getting any revelations from Peters knowledge of these players.

Time to forget about a troublemaker like Aiyuk that acts like a ten year old and look elsewhere for better character players who can play and don’t bring a truckload of baggage.

 

[Conn]

If he brings baggage here he will be cut instantly, otherwise they won’t sign him. He’ll only be here if he’s moderately healthy, in which case he’s worth the camp spot. It seems inevitable at this point so treating it like a big deal probably won’t be enjoyable. Treat it no differently than any other flier, but with high upside. There really is no downside unless you care that much about a little 1-year cap space.