The 49ers knew that finding a franchise quarterback wasn’t going to be easy. To supplement the position while they look to find a long-term answer under center, they’ve built a juggernaut of a roster that can support some up-and-down QB play.
A good illustration of the 49ers’ roster construction is shown via their salary cap commitments for the 2023 season.
San Francisco is actually in a reasonable place from a financial standpoint. They sit $10,648,223 below the cap heading into training camp according to Over the Cap. That number could actually climb some once Nick Bosa’s extension is done since it will likely drop his cap hit this year. Without an extension he’s set to play on the fully-guaranteed fifth-year option on his rookie deal which will cost north of $17 million against the cap.
Part of the reason they’re in an okay financial spot this year is because of some contract restructures over the last couple seasons that pushed money further into the future. Eventually those bills will come due and the team will be in a tough spot cap-wise. That’s part of the reason they need some of their young players on rookie deals to work out if they want to extend their Super Bowl window. They can’t afford to keep filling holes via free agency.
Let’s take a look at what their cap situation looks like heading into training camp with the 15 biggest cap hits scheduled for this season: