For the San Francisco 49ers, pressure continues to mount after a season of survival. The Niners entered 2025 with Super Bowl expectations. They left it with hard financial questions. Injuries ravaged the roster, depth was stretched to its limits, and a once-dominant powerhouse found itself scrambling to keep its championship window open. Now, they have key extensions looming and veteran contracts swelling. In addition, reinforcements are needed across multiple position groups. With that, very tough roster decisions are inevitable. If John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan want to preserve flexibility, three veterans stand out as logical cut candidates entering the 2026 offseason.
Forged through adversity
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The 2025 49ers season was defined by a remarkable 12-5 record achieved in the face of a staggering injury frenzy. Sure, star running back Christian McCaffrey delivered a historic campaign-earning AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors. The rest of the roster, though, absorbed relentless blows.
Quarterback Brock Purdy missed plenty of starts with a turf toe injury. That forced Mac Jones to guide the offense through the season’s most volatile stretch. Shanahan adjusted schematically. He leaned on the ground game and quick-release concepts to stay afloat in the standings.
Defensively, the attrition was even more severe.
Losing Fred Warner and Nick Bosa to season-ending injuries stripped the unit of its identity. Veteran reinforcements like Eric Kendricks were forced into elevated roles. Meanwhile, young rotational pieces logged snaps far beyond their developmental timeline.
Playoff grit meats harsh reality
Despite the chaos, San Francisco’s resilience remained unmistakable. They secured a Wild Card berth and authored one of the postseason’s grittiest performances, which was a 23-19 road upset over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. It was a throwback win built on physicality, clock control, and situational defense. Sadly, depth has its limits.
Facing the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field, the injury-ravaged 49ers simply ran out of answers. The result was a 41-6 dismantling. That was the second-most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history.
The defeat didn’t just end their season. It exposed structural fragility in a roster built to dominate, not merely survive.
Free agency priorities
San Francisco’s offseason mandate is twofold. They need to rearm the offense and fortify the defensive front.
With Brandon Aiyuk expected to depart and both Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne hitting the market, Shanahan’s passing attack needs a true alpha target to pair with a healthy Purdy.
Defensively, the edge group requires reinforcements behind Bosa. Injuries to rotational rushers and pending free agency for Yetur Gross-Matos and Clelin Ferrell leave the unit thin.
There are also offensive line concerns, particularly inside, while George Kittle’s recovery from an Achilles rupture clouds the tight end room.
With roughly $37 million in projected cap space, every dollar must be optimized. That makes veteran releases painful but unavoidable.
WR Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk’s contract reality is the elephant in the room. His tenure in Santa Clara has been defined by elite flashes but also mounting tension. Injuries and reported friction with the front office have clouded his long-term future, culminating in the voiding of his 2026 guarantees late in 2025.
From a pure talent standpoint, releasing Aiyuk seems counterintuitive. However, roster construction is about allocation, not sentiment. The Niners see Jennings emerging as a red-zone force (9 touchdowns in 2025) and younger receivers stepping into expanded roles. As such, Aiyuk’s price tag has become difficult to justify, especially amid durability concerns.
A post-June 1 designation would allow San Francisco to spread the dead cap hit while finally closing a saga that has lingered for multiple offseasons.
EDGE Bryce Huff
Huff arrived as a supplemental pass-rush weapon expected to thrive opposite Bosa. Instead, his impact plateaued.
Yes, he is serviceable. That said, he failed to generate the consistent disruption the 49ers envisioned. That was particularly true once injuries forced him into heavier snap counts.
The financial calculus is not too complex. Huff carries a 2026 cap hit of roughly $5.4 million. Not exorbitant, but that’s also significant for a rotational edge in a cap-tight environment.
San Francisco has younger, cheaper rushers waiting in the pipeline. These include high-upside developmental pieces capable of matching Huff’s production at a fraction of the cost. With that, Huff would be a classic mid-tier cap casualty. He is productive enough to roster, but expendable given financial priorities.
C Jake Brendel
The age curve hits hard for the 34-year-old. Brendel represents the aging core of an offensive line in transition. Anchored by 38-year-old Trent Williams, San Francisco’s front must get younger and more athletic, especially inside.
Sure, Brendel’s leadership remains valued. However, his pass-blocking efficiency has declined. Interior pressure was a recurring issue in 2025, particularly during Purdy’s absence when protection adjustments became more complex. At this point, the Niners need financial flexibility.
Now, Brendel’s $4.1 million cap hit isn’t massive. Releasing him, though, frees roughly $4 million. For a team seeking guard reinforcements and draft-line investments, that savings becomes meaningful.
Balancing present and future
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The 49ers’ offseason is really about recalibrating. Releasing Brandon Aiyuk, Bryce Huff, and Jake Brendel would generate flexibility while accelerating youth transitions at premium positions. More importantly, those savings could be redirected toward retaining core contributors and acquiring the alpha playmakers and trench reinforcements this roster now lacks.
San Francisco’s Super Bowl window remains open, but it is narrower than before. Navigating 2026 will require the same resilience they showed in 2025. This time, however, the battle is fought on the balance sheet as much as the field.
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