San Francisco 49ers News

2013 NFL free agency primer: 49ers get ready to build on last year's Super Bowl team

NFL free agency gets started on Tuesday, March 12. We take a look at the 49ers situation heading into the craziest time of the year.

By David Fucillo@davidfucillo Mar 12, 2013, 6:20am PDT

NFL free agency is less than twelve hours away! The new league year kicks off at 1:00 p.m. PT, at which point trades can become official and players can sign on the dotted line. The last couple of days have provided a chance for teams to begin negotiations with outside free agents, but for the most part things have been rather quiet. The NFL sent out a memo on Friday, telling teams they could not agree to deals during the negotiating period. That quieted things down to a certain extent, leading us left to wonder.

I have to think we'll see an early rush of deals when the clock passes 1:00 p.m. PT. I don't know if it will be the big names, but the past couple of days should build to something. That being said, it should surprise nobody if the 49ers take their time and are fairly quiet early in free agency. They have proven that patience truly is a virtue. We'll see how it plays out as Paraag Marathe and Trent Baalke work their magic:

The 49ers have their fair share of free agents, with ten players unrestricted and two players restricted. The 49ers elected to tender Tramaine Brock, but did not tender Darcel McBath. Assuming a tender does not come down before 1:00 p.m., that essentially makes McBath an unrestricted free agent.

49ers Transactions

Fooch talks Anquan Boldin trade

Alex Smith to Chiefs (pending)

Anquan Boldin from Ravens (pending)

David Akers released

Ian Williams contract extension

Joe Hastings (WR) one year deal

49ers sign six players to reserve/future contracts

Michael Thomas signs reserve/future contract

49ers Free Agents

Fooch 49ers free agent predictions

OG Leonard Davis
WR/PR Ted Ginn Jr.
FS Dashon Goldson
LB Tavares Gooden
LB Larry Grant
LB Clark Haggans
DL Ricky Jean-Francois
WR Randy Moss
NT Isaac Sopoaga
TE Delanie Walker
CB Tramaine Brock (RFA - tendered)
S Darcel McBath (RFA)

49ers Free Agency Rumors

Ed Reed: Ravens west anybody?

Desmond Bryant: On the 49ers radar?

Sean Smith: Ready to pay up?

Lawrence Tynes anybody?

Josh Cribbs: Potential punt returner?

John Abraham visited 49ers

49ers Needs

1. S
2. K
2. DL
3. TE
4. OLB
5. CB
6. ILB
7. QB

Some of these positions will be addressed in free agency, some in the draft. The ranking could change, particularly depending on what happens with Delanie Walker. I had thought about including wide receiver, but at this point it seems highly unlikely the team will make much of a move in free agency. We could potentially see something in the draft, but even that has to be pushed down the priority list a bit.