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.
Last week, 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 cornerbacks (we’ll loop back to linebackers tomorrow). The 49ers have made some significant changes to the position, releasing Tramaine Brock, and moving Jimmie Ward to free safety. That left 2016 fourth round pick Rashard Robinson, 2014 fifth round pick Keith Reaser, and 2014 fourth round pick Dontae Johnson as the most experienced players on the depth chart.
The 49ers added K’Waun Williams in free agency, and spent a third round draft pick on Ahkello Witherspoon. They are also welcoming back Will Redmond from his year-long ACL rehab.
All of this is to say, they have very little guaranteed money invested in the position. They’ve invested a lot of mid-round draft picks in the current group, and their one free agency addition, K’Waun Williams, came pretty cheap, with a $75,000 signing bonus. I suspect we’ll see a lot of variations of the depth chart in training camp and the preseason. Robinson and Witherspoon make sense as long-term starters, but Reaser and Johnson will likely be in the mix thanks to their veteran experience. Williams and Redmond would seem to be the front-runners for the nickel role, but Reaser and Johnson could both get some opportunities there as well. The development of the cornerback rotation could be one of the more intriguing competitions in training camp.
Here is a rundown of each player’s pertinent salary numbers.
Ahkello Witherspoon: $973,572
All signing bonus prorations.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $243,393
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $730,179
Will Redmond: $654,417
All signing bonus prorations.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $218,139
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $436,278
Rashard Robinson: $287,544
All signing bonus prorations.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $95,848
Post June 1 Dead Money 2018: $191,696
Dontae Johnson: $100,136
All signing bonus proration.
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $100,136
K’Waun Williams: $75,000
All signing bonus proration
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $75,000
Keith Reaser: $41,200
All signing bonus proration
Fully Guaranteed Money Left to be Paid: $0
Post June 1 Dead Money 2017: $41,200