The Jacksonville Jaguars took care of some important business on Thursday, locking up wide receiver Allen Hurns to a four-year contract extension worth as much as $40 million. The Jaguars signed Hurns in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. UDFAs can only sign three-year deals, and while draft picks can renegotiate their contracts after three years, UDFAs can renegotiate after two years.
The 49ers did the same thing with Ian Williams a couple years back, and are free to re-sign their own 2014 UDFAs at any point moving forward. The team signed a handful of players following the 2014 NFL Draft, but only two remain on the roster. Safety L.J. McCray earned a roster spot out of training camp, almost exclusively on special teams. Linebacker Shayne Skov spent time on the 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squads in 2014. He signed a reserve/future contract after the 2014 season, and spent all but one game on the 49ers 53-man roster in 2015. He also played almost exclusively on special teams.
McCray would seem to be the more likely of the two to get an extension, but given the depth at safety, I would be a bit surprised. He is getting safety work in the offseason workout program, but it is pretty far down the depth chart. I imagine he will spend most of this season as a special teams guy, but we'll have to wait and see what kind of work he also gets in the preseason. He'll play some safety, but I'm curious to see if he can work his way up the depth chart at all. The 49ers have strong depth at the safety position, with Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea starting, and Jaquiski Tartt likely rotating into several different roles. It is possible the team could see McCray as an option after Bethea departs, but there is really no indication of that at this point.
Speaking of receivers, the 49ers have a couple 2015 UDFA wide receivers that will be eligible for extensions next year. DeAndrew White spent the season on the 53-man roster, while Dres Anderson spent the season on injured reserve. Both players accrued a year of service time, and thus will be eligible for an extension after this coming season, assuming they make the 49ers 53-man roster. The 49ers have plenty of opportunities at the wide receiver position, so it's entirely possible one of them makes the roster. We'll see if the 49ers end up with either in need of a serious contract extension after this season.