The San Francisco 49ers are in the first stages of a grand rebuilding project, and with the 2017 season set to begin on Sunday, there’s cautious optimism building around the franchise.
First-year general manager John Lynch and first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan have helped generate new energy, as the pair has loaded up the team’s roster with youth and athleticism. Lynch and Shanahan haven’t been afraid to cut ties with veteran holdovers from previous regimes, and that’s reflected in the team’s cap space.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the 49ers will begin the first week of the regular season with $64.2 million worth of cap space, more than any other team in the league. Though San Francisco outpaces the Cleveland Browns by just $2.4 million, the 49ers have nearly $30 million more freed up than the next closest team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Official cap space as Week 1 begins:
Top 3:
49ers: 64.2M
Browns: 61.8M
Jaguars: 35.3MBottom 3:
Dolphins: 1.8M
Rams: 738k
Chargers: 434k— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 5, 2017
San Francisco worked to create even more cap space over the past few weeks, as the team traded tight end Vance McDonald and released both Ahmad Brooks and Jeremy Kerley. Lynch and Shanahan will have an opportunity to establish their foundation in year one, but now, the significant amount of cap space creates opportunities for the team to add marquee free agents over the next several offseasons.