Much of the 49ers’ focus in 2020 free agency will be on retaining their own players. With valuable contributors like Jimmie Ward, Arik Armstead, Emmanuel Sanders and Ronald Blair all set to hit unrestricted free agency, San Francisco will need to get creative to maintain the key pieces of the roster that took them to the Super Bowl last season.
There’s a good chance the 49ers aren’t able to retain all of their available free agents though, especially when teams will aim to poach their players in an effort to capture some of the production that made San Francisco a contender. They’ll also make some cuts to clear cap space that’ll open roster spots for contributors.
Should the 49ers miss out on re-signing their own players and make those cuts, they can still put together a good free agency period with a splash signing or two, or some smaller moves that provide only minor tweaks to the roster while still filling needs.
Here are five free agents the 49ers may target if they miss out on re-signing their free agents:
WR AJ Green, Bengals
This is certainly a pipe-dream type of signing for San Francisco where they’re able to clear some cap space and wind up getting the 31-year-old Green at a discount. He is coming off an ankle injury that sidelined him for all of 2019, and he’s played just 35 of a possible 64 games over the last four seasons. Green is undeniably productive when he is healthy though, which is why it’s a long-shot for the 49ers to snag him. In his eight seasons, he’s averaging 75 catches, 1,113 yards and 8 touchdowns per year. Adding a more traditional No. 1 receiver across from Deebo Samuel would give the 49ers one of the most dynamic receiving duos in the league.