What’s next for the San Francisco 49ers? Their 2025 season was a rollercoaster of emotions. They lost many key players early in the season, with Fred Warner and Nick Bosa suffering season-ending injuries. Quarterback Brock Purdy was also absent for most of the year, and Brandon Aiyuk never played for San Francisco again.
Despite the turmoil they’ve faced, though, the 49ers found themselves fighting for a top spot in the NFC last season. Thanks to a spirited effort from the offense and the battered defense holding on just enough, San Francisco earned a spot in the postseason. They even took a win against the defending champions Philadelphia Eagles, before being knocked out by the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round.
Now, the 49ers need to sort out their financial situation. San Francisco’s cap flexibility this offseason is in the gutter, ranking 29th in the category according to Yahoo! Sports. In an era where teams are adept at moving money around to clear space, the 49ers are limited in their options.
That doesn’t mean that their options are dead, though. There are a few obvious moves that the 49ers can do to free up cap space and open up opportunities to improve their roster.
Restructure Nick Bosa and Trent Williams’ contracts
The first and most obvious move for the 49ers this offseason is to restructure Nick Bosa and Trent Williams’ deals. Restructuring a contract is a common occurrence in the NFL, where teams create cap space by turning a portion of a player’s contract into a signing bonus. That significantly lowers the cap hit of a player at the expense of more “void years” at the end of their contracts with the team.
Bosa and Williams are the two players with the biggest cap hits on the 49ers in 2026. Bosa takes up $42 million in cap space, while Williams isn’t too far behind with $38 million, The next closest player is Purdy, who has a $25 million cap hit for 2026.
A restructuring of both players’ contracts will open up around $33 million in cap space. That seems to be the most logical option for San Francisco. The other option would be to cut either player, and that’s unwise for the most obvious reasons. Both players are still amazing players who would contribute to a potential deep playoff run.
Releasing Bryce Huff and DeMarcus Robinson
The rest of the 49ers’ salary cap savings will rely on two underperforming players on key positions of need for the team. Edge rusher Bryce Huff did not live up to expectations this season. He recorded just four sacks last season despite playing in 15 games and starting in eight of them. On the other hand, Demarcus Robinson’s first season on the 49ers was extremely quiet. He had just 276 yards on 35 catches and was not featured despite the bevy of injuries to the wide receiver room.
That makes both players cut candidates for next season, especially with the financial implications of cutting said players. Releasing Huff this offseason would save the 49ers $5.39 million in cap space, according to Over the Edge. Meanwhile, a post-June 1 cut of Robinson would give them around $253,000 in cap space.
Should the 49ers believe that both players are going to bounce back, restructuring is always an option. Huff had ten sacks just a few years ago, and the 49ers could be in need of a veteran wide receiver if Jauan Jennings leaves in free agency. If San Francisco doesn’t think the cost of keeping both players is worth it, though… then it’s goodbye for both players.
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