It’s continues to be an exciting first couple of days for the new 49ers regime in San Francisco. Wednesday brought three big signings on the offensive the ball: Quarterback Brian Hoyer, and wide receivers Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garcon.
So it’s no surprise general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are now moving to the defensive side of the ball. After their interest was initially reported by Peter Schrager of Fox Sports, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee is reporting that the 49ers are expected to ink a deal with former Raiders linebacker Malcolm Smith.
That deal is reportedly going to be for five-years and worth $26.5 million with $13 million guaranteed. That works out to about $4.3 million for three years when it comes to the guaranteed money, up from the $3.5 he made last year with Oakland.
LB Malcolm Smith’s deal w/ SF a strong one: Five years, $26.5 million with $13m guaranteed, source says. (Up from his $3.5 per year w/ Oak.)
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2017
Smith will always be best known for his incredible performance in Super Bowl XLVIII, earning MVP honors by recording an interception for a touchdown and recovered a fumble in the Seahawks’ 43-8 thrashing of Peyton Manning and the Broncos
Smith started 30 games over the past two seasons for the Raiders, recording 186 tackles and four sacks, easily his best two seasons in the NFL. Prior to his stint in Oakland, Smith was more of a rotation player in Pete Carrol’s Seahawks’ defenses in Seattle, managing 16 starts in four seasons.
Robert Saleh, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, was a defensive quality control coach in Seattle during Smith’s first three NFL seasons.