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If there were odds on the board for whether or not Ahmad Brooks will be on the San Francisco 49ers in 2015, it is safe to say they have been taken off the board. The 49ers benched Brooks on Sunday after he missed a team meeting this week. Word got around that he missed a defensive meeting on Tuesday. Tuesday is normally a day off, but the Thanksgiving schedule resulted in a change to the normal game week.
After the game, Brooks was none too pleased, and just a little bit salty:
Ahmad Brooks on #49ers decision to bench him? "No, I do not agree. But I’m just a player. I’m just a number. You know what I mean?"
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) December 8, 2014
Does anybody actually think Brooks will be back with the 49ers in 2015? I believe if the 49ers cut him after the season, they will save a little over $4 million in cap space. I need to clarify those numbers. Of course, they could also elect to cut him before this season even ends and just call it a day.
But even if Brooks sticks around through the end of the season, there has to be little chance that he is back on the roster next year. The team saw Aaron Lynch emerge as a playmaker this season, and Aldon Smith will be back for a full season of snaps next year. There are always depth concerns, but the team will probably be more inclined to look for younger depth options. They could potentially bring back Dan Skuta at a reasonable rate, but again, youth might be the way they go behind Lynch and Smith. We'll see what the coming months bring, if not the next few days.