The 49ers attempts to woo Nnamdi Asomugha may receive a much-needed cash infusion Thursday as Matt Maiocco and CSN Bay Area are reporting the 49ers are expected to cut quarterback David Carr. Teams cannot officially make cuts until Thursday so we'll know more about this now developing situation tomorrow. If the 49ers are going to make a legit effort at signing Nnamdi Asomugha they'll have to go toe-to-toe with the New York Jets and possibly the Houston Texans if they can find some cap room of their own.
Carr was scheduled to take up $2.375 million in 2011 cap room. I don't know how much remains as far as bonuses and whatnot but it obviously clears up some more space. It will be interesting to see how any deal for Nnamdi (in SF, NYJ or wherever) works out given the salary cap implications. As people are speculating, we'll likely see a big signing bonus. Beyond that, competition could come down to who can provide the most up front money as opposed to a back-loaded deal like the 49ers handed to Clements a few years back.
The other issue becomes the 49ers quarterback situation. David Carr isn't exactly a spectacular quarterback, but this will leave the 49ers with Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick and Jeremiah Masoli on the roster. I'm an Alex Smith fan, and I love the long term potential of Colin Kaepernick. But doesn't it seem like you'd want some kind of insurance policy mixed in? Or is it more of a "screw it" roll of the dice?