Earlier this week, following the 49ers three latest roster moves, I asked how many locks the 49ers have on their roster. With a new coaching staff and front office, few players are going to be safe when the time comes for roster cuts in late August. Some players seem like clear locks, while other seem clearly in danger, but nothing is really all that clear given the organizational overhaul.
On Wednesday, we started a series of articles in which we will look at the guaranteed money and dead money related to each player at the various positions. The idea is that players with more guaranteed money or potential dead money hits are less likely to get released under the new management.
With each position, salary cap guru Jason Hurley look at the amount of fully guaranteed money still to be played out, and what dead money hits would look like following a release or trade. It is May 10, but I decided to focus on these exclusively as post-June 1 cuts. Any player cut after June 1 has their dead money split between 2017 and 2018. The 49ers could make some roster moves between now and then, but we’re looking at this based on training camp-related cuts. Also, we don’t know how offset language works for most of these contracts, so we are not factoring that into the assessment.
Today, we move on to the offensive line. We don’t have numbers yet on veterans Tim Barnes and Brandon Fusco, but for the most part, the 49ers are not on the hook for a lot of guaranteed money. Joshua Garnett’s deal has guaranteed salary for 2017 and 2018, but not 2019. Zane Beadles and Garry Gilliam have a combined $1.25 million in base salary guaranteed in 2017. My guess is Barnes and/or Fusco will have some moderate guarantees.
The 49ers signed offensive linemen in undrafted free agency, but did not spend any draft picks on the unit. They acquired Jeremy Zuttah via trade (no guaranteed money), and signed Gilliam, Barnes, and Fusco. We are going to see some changes in what the group looks like but it’s hard to say exactly what specific changes will occur. Zuttah is competing with Daniel Kilgore. Gilliam could compete with Trent Brown and the guards, while Barnes and Fusco seem more likely to be competing for backup roles.
My biggest question is left guard. I would not be surprised to see Jeremy Zuttah starting at center, but whether he does or does not, will it be Zane Beadles at left guard, or someone else? The 49ers have several veterans in the mix, but none stand out as the clear guy at left guard.
Here is a rundown of each player’s pertinent salary numbers.
Joe Staley: $6,600,000
All signing bonus prorations
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $2,400,000
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $4,200,000
Joshua Garnett: $5,893,848
2017 base salary of $872,923, 2018 base salary of $1,295,846, signing bonus prorations of $1,241,693
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $2,168,769
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $3,410,462
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $2,483,386
Zane Beadles: $1,666,667
$500,000 of his 2017 base salary that became guaranteed on April 1, 2017, plus $1,166,667 in signing bonus prorations.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $500,000
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $1,083,333
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $583,334
Garry Gilliam: $1,250,000
$750,000 of his 2017 base salary, $500,000 signing bonus.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $750,000
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $1,250,000
Daniel Kilgore: $337,500
All signing bonus proration
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $337,500
John Theus: $193,209
All signing bonus prorations
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $64,403
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $128,806
Trent Brown: $27,946
All signing bonus prorations
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $13,973
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $13,973
Darrell Williams Jr.: $10,000
$5,000 signing bonus, $5,000 of his 2017 base salary
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $5,000
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $6,666
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $3,334
Evan Goodman: $6,500
$2,500 signing bonus, $4,000 of his 2017 base salary
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $4,000
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $4,833
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $1,667