Golden Nuggets: Over The Cap believes the 49ers own two of the 25 worst contracts in the NFL

Tuesday was a slow news day. The Niners announced they released Jordan Matthews from the practice squad.

Over The Cap did a recent article breaking down the top-25 worst contracts in the NFL. Kwon Alexander landed on the list, but so did two current San Francisco 49ers. Dee Ford is an obvious choice. Here is the second:

The Worst Contracts in the NFL

18. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, 49ers

$27.5M/year, $26.9M 2021 cap hit, $2.8M to cut

This is one of those contracts that never made any sense when it was signed. Garoppolo had a grand total of 7 starts and a bit of an injury history when the 49ers signed this contract, despite having the franchise tag at their disposal, making Jimmy G the highest paid player in the NFL. While the 49ers structured the deal wisely by taking a massive $37M cap hit in the first year of the contract and putting in late vesting dates its hard to take a victory lap for that when you didn’t utilize those dates this year to find a viable QB. In three years Garoppolo has cost the 49ers about $83.6M on the cap. He has played just 25 games in 3 seasons, averaging about 230 yards a game and handing the ball off a lot to stable of running backs. While the dead money is reasonable next year it’s only because the 49ers took so much of that hit early in the contract.

Four Takeaways From the 49ers’ 34-24 Week 13 Loss to Bills

Robert Saleh is still a great defensive coordinator

I’m sure a ton of fans were up in arms about the 49ers defense getting gashed with Robert Saleh as the main culprit. Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called a phenomenal game and did not allow Saleh to key in on any flaws. And even if Saleh was able to key in on those flaws, the Bills were just too much of a mismatch talent-wise for the 49ers.

Saleh got whooped on Monday Night Football, but he is still a great defensive coordinator. The book on him does not change because of one bad game. Could he have adjusted more and done things differently? Sure. I am not sure how much of a difference it would have made though considering the lack of a pass rush. Not to mention the secondary was getting torched by the Bills’ receivers.

So as much as Saleh could have made changes, I do not believe it would have changed the game. Buffalo pulled no punches and gave it their all against the 49ers. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you’re Saleh because the defense was been impressive in almost every single game this season. Now it is about how they bounce back in Week 14 against the Washington Football Team.

49ers NFL quarterback rankings: Assessing likelihood of 2021 options

Stock: Up

Isn’t it just about time for Matthew Stafford and Lions to split? The 2009 No. 1 overall pick has been wasting away in Detroit for 11 years with little to show for it.

Stafford has the arm talent and smarts to excel in Shanahan’s offense. He’s under contract through 2023, but his cap hit goes down over each of the next three seasons.

The Lions finally cut bait with Matt Patricia and now are staring at a crossroads. Signs are pointing to 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh being the Lions’ preferred candidate to be Detroit’s next head coach. The Lions’ roster is in shambles. Wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. will be free agents this offseason and it feels unlikely the Lions will bring them back.

Mullens lacks consistency to keep 49ers’ playoff hopes alive

In the 49ers’ 34-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday, Mullens finished the game having completed 26 of his 39 pass attempts for 316 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, but his statistics don’t tell the whole story.

Much of Mullens’ passing yardage came well after the game was out of reach. Only 25 percent of his passing attempts came in the first half, and while mistakes are never good, his came at the most inopportune times.

In the third quarter, the 49ers were at the 1-yard line after Kendrick Bourne was ruled down just shy of the end zone. The team attempted a quarterback sneak, which was negated after Mullens was called for a false start.

8 takeaways from 49ers’ Monday night defeat

The 49ers got a slew of favorable outcomes in Week 13, but they couldn’t capitalize with a victory. They’re not out of the playoff hunt at 5-7, tied with the Bears and Lions, but they’re behind the Cardinals and Vikings now with just four games to go. San Francisco already needed a near perfect finish to make the playoffs. Now their margin of error has been eliminated and even a perfect final four weeks may not be enough.