The 49ers’ limited salary cap space and minimal draft capital made it look like they’d be in for a relatively quiet offseason.
That idea was dismissed early in free agency when the 49ers agreed to trade defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Colts for the No. 13 overall pick. That was a domino that set the rest of the offseason in motion. General manager John Lynch and the 49ers’ front office wound up being active in re-signing some players and moving around in the draft to make some key moves that should put the team in position to contend for a Super Bowl again in 2020.
Here are the six best moves the 49ers made this offseason:
6. Retaining Restricted Free Agents
This one wasn’t a huge question going into the offseason since keeping restricted free agents isn’t very difficult in the NFL. The 49ers placed second-round tenders on running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. They wound up flipping Breida to Miami for a fifth-round pick that turned into offensive lineman Colton McKivitz. Bourne could wind up being one of the team’s top two receivers in 2020. He was a go-to target for Jimmy Garoppolo in the red zone and turned 23 of his 30 catches into either a touchdown or a first down. With so many question marks at receiver, Bourne provides some much-needed reliability on the outside.