The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a 4-12 season that has them 10-22 in two seasons of the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch regime. Add in a 7-25 record between Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen consistent winning football in the Bay Area,
Last week, as the Los Angeles Rams were wrapping up their win over the New Orleans Saints, and the New England Patriots were getting ready to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, soon-to-be free agent safety Tyrann Mathieu tweeted this out.
Getting money is cool, but I want a ring.
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) January 20, 2019
A lot of players talk about wanting to win, but eventually sign a deal with a bad team that offers the biggest bucks. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it leaves us taking some of these comments with a grain of salt. That being said, it is not surprising when a player gives an edge to a winning team vs. a bad team. There are a host of reasons to change teams in free agency, and most players have a different set of reasons for making their decision.
But if we consider “winning a ring” on a player’s to do list, where do the 49ers fit into that? They obviously have struggled for extended stretches in recent years, but they’re also getting Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon back for next season. The 49ers are not going to be atop the list of Super Bowl contenders, but they’ll be a hot choice in lists of non-playoff teams that are in the playoffs next season. And with plenty of money to offer their free agency targets, I don’t really see a big issue.