It was evident to anyone who followed the 49ers’ 2021 campaign, even in passing, that the secondary was not the strength of the team. There was a particularly grotesque stretch of the early season when it was the bane of their existence.
A major part of the team’s identity was its lack of discipline and propensity to commit penalties on a near-ruinous basis. Much of that failure came from corner, and more specifically, the 34-year-old Josh Norman, who had nine defensive pass interference or defensive holding calls over his 15 appearances.
San Francisco gave up 64 defensive penalty yards in the season opener, 81 against the Packers in Week 3 and 97 against the Colts in Week 7.
Eventually, with the return of Emmanuel Moseley and late-season emergence of rookie Ambry Thomas, stabilized and became the most formidable pairing since Moseley and Jason Verrett began the season.
K’Waun Williams, though, showed some signs of decline at age 30, and is now a free agent at an unforgiving nickel corner position which doesn’t often reward players with fair market value.
It begs the question, what’s next? Do the 49ers bet on a Moseley-Thomas-Williams pairing again, assuming Williams comes cheap? Do they look to make a competitive upgrade?
While Ambry Thomas finished the season well, it feels absolutely necessary to provide competition and depth at that position. There will be injuries.
The most logical route would be to bring Williams back on a one-year deal, preferably worth less than $3 million, draft at least one rookie corner with one of the 49ers’ nine draft picks — that’s before whatever Jimmy Garoppolo returns — and add a capable free agent.
The goal should be to provide competition for Thomas and find depth in an effort, preferably, to avoid another Norman situation in which the team has to turn to a washed-up veteran.
Deommodore Lenoir could become a potential cut that you stash on the practice squad, assuming he has limited suitors.
Here’s a look at potential corners that could be in the 49ers’ price range, which figures to top out around $4 million in 2022:
- D.J. Reed
- Ahkello Witherspoon
- Rasul Douglas
- Patrick Peterson
- Robert Alford
- Jason Verrett
- Kyle Fuller
- Mike Hughes
- Levi Wallace
- Xavier Rhodes
There’s a clear delineation between the top three corners on that list and the rest. They represent the sort of second-tier of corners, who are starting caliber, but lacking the bona fides of a J.C. Jackson or Stephon Gilmore.
Two of those names are former 49ers. Reed may well be out of the 49ers’ price range after excelling with Seattle. He was the supposed to be the future of the slot corner position, but was cut due to a pectoral injury and eventually broke out as an outside corner.
Witherspoon was someone that San Francisco appeared fed up with, given his inconsistencies and the frustration he caused Kyle Shanahan. He had a similar situation with the Steelers this season, where he was traded from Seattle. After some uneven performances, he was stellar down the stretch.
Rasul Douglas is the last of that upper tier, and had been given up on throughout multiple destinations. He was a former third-round pick of the Eagles, where he worked with the 49ers’ secondary coach, Cory Undlin. After the Cardinals cut him this season, he had an astoundingly good season with the Packers, with five interceptions, two pick-sixes and 13 pass breakups.
He may well be out of the 49ers’ price range after that season.
The rest of those names are largely veterans whose best days are behind them. Jason Verrett could well earn a one-year minimum deal coming off yet another torn ACL.
Xavier Rhodes, Kyle Fuller and Patrick Peterson were all elite corners at one point, similar to Norman, which begs the question whether San Francisco would want to walk that path again.
Robert Alford of the Cardinals, Mike Hughes of the Chiefs and Levi Wallace of the Bills are all in a more appealing tier and all zone scheme fits. Alford is the oldest, at 33, while both Hughes and Wallace are younger than 27 and have some reason to believe they’re worth betting on, with Hughes coming off the most impressive season of his career.
There could be some wiggle room if the 49ers decide to move some money around, but this is not a team that’s recently shown a willingness to spend heavily at the corner position.
Per Joel Corry, Dee Ford’s contract became fully guaranteed for injury, which means at best, they can cut him after June 1 for a savings of $2.4 million. He’d still count on the cap for $9.51 million, which might make it worthwhile to see if he can magically get healthy this time around.
According to Matt Maiocco, the 49ers could look to extend/restructure Jimmie Ward’s current contract. As it stands, he’s set to make $12.94 million this season, followed by three void years, costing roughly $6.4 million in 2023.
San Francisco could lower his current-year cap hit by extending him. Here’s a look at what an extension could theoretically look like.
He’s got about $9 million fully guaranteed now. Effectively — since the 49ers are unlikely to cut him — he’d be on pace to earn about $19.33 million over the next two years.
This extension would guarantee him roughly $26.2 million over the next four years, plus a chance to earn even more in years three and four, but at more manageable figures for the 49ers.
The prorated bonus money may be high, but Ward isn’t going to give up the $8.9 million he’s likely to earn in non-guaranteed salary next season. That, plus the already-guaranteed $6.395 million that looms on his void years means he’s going to need a guaranteed figure around $20 million to do an extension.
By doing something in this range, the 49ers would save more than $6 million next season. The obvious concern is guaranteeing Ward, who is 30, money this far into the future, but he’s getting paid one way or the other, and is incredibly valuable to the secondary. With the cap expected to continue to rise, the figures aren’t prohibitively expensive, even with the looming monster extensions for Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel.
That money could at least make it viable to bring back Tartt. If they decide to pursue another avenue, Tavon Wilson would be a sensible re-signing, coupled with the addition of a rookie, and with Tarvarius Moore returning.
San Francisco has met with Baylor safety Jalen Pitre, who attended the Senior Bowl, and a Day 2 investment in a safety would align with a desire to get cheaper and younger at the position.