We are coming to the end of the first weekend of free agency, and the San Francisco 49ers are holding steady for the moment. I suspect we’ll see some more additions in the coming weeks, but the big money moves appear to be finished.
We’ve had some time to digest the moves thus far, and I thought now was a good time to see how people rate the additions. We started with running back Jerick McKinnon, and now move on to center Weston Richburg.
In assessing the Richburg signing, I’ve decided to combine it with a couple other transactions. In February, the 49ers re-signed Daniel Kilgore to a three-year contract. They then signed Richburg to a five-year contract worth up to $47.5 million. He received $16.5 million fully guaranteed, including a $9.3 million signing bonus, his $3 million base salary for 2018, and a $4.2 million roster bonus.
We were wondering what this move would mean for Kilgore. There was some thought they would compete at center, with the loser moving to guard. But then, shortly before formally introducing Richburg to the media, the 49ers traded Kilgore to the Miami Dolphins. The trade involved a swap of seventh round picks, with the 49ers moving up from No. 227 overall to No. 223 overall.
The 49ers did not eat any dead money for the Kilgore trade because the deal included a roster bonus payable after the trade, and not a signing bonus paid immediately. Effectively, the 49ers signed Kilgore in case nothing else worked out, and then unloaded him for a small move up the draft board after signing their center of the future.
Below is an approval poll, where you can rate the Richburg signing and Kilgore sign and trade on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. If you don’t see the poll below, click here.
Poll
Rate the Kilgore/Richburg moves on a scale of 1 to 10
This poll is closed
-
1%
1 (worst)
(33 votes) -
0%
2
(13 votes) -
0%
3
(23 votes) -
1%
4
(46 votes) -
4%
5
(120 votes) -
6%
6
(179 votes) -
18%
7
(497 votes) -
30%
8
(831 votes) -
18%
9
(494 votes) -
17%
10 (best)
(478 votes)