A day after trading DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts, the 49ers made moves to secure the rest of their current roster. The team tendered one year contracts for Matt Breida and Kendrick Bourne. The deals are worth over $3 million. Both players can still negotiate with other teams, but the 49ers can match any offer. If they decide not to match the other team’s offer, they will receive a 2nd round pick in exchange. Kendrick proved to be a valuable receiver last season as 23 of his receptions went for either first downs or touchdowns. Breida fell behind Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert in the rotation, but he has home run speed that the offense likes.
The 49ers also resigned Ronald Blair to a one year deal. His return keeps some of the depth the defensive line had last season minus Buckner. That depth helped the 49ers turn into one of the best defenses in the league. Blair was playing very well in limited snaps before going down with a torn ACL in November. He should get plenty of snaps this season to turn his performance into a good payday next offseason.
Jerick McKinnon and the 49ers were able to restructure his deal and he will be back next season. He has been unable to play any meaningful games in his two seasons as a 49er. There was a lot of promise that a player of Jerick’s skillset would be a great fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, but it seemed less likely that we would see it on the field with him missing all this time. It was uncertain that the 49ers were going to retain him after Raheem Mostert’s breakout season and Kyle Shanahan’s trust in Tevin Coleman. But he is back and maybe this is the year that he actually gets to play to fulfill that promise when he first signed as a free agent.
49ers links
Arik’s deal (Florio)
1st day recap (Inman)
New deal for Arik (49ers)
Ronald Blair back (Gantt)
Team friendly deal (Madson)
Bourne and Breida tendered contracts (Branch)
Jerick’s restructured deal (Maiocco)
Roster moves (49ers staff)
5 year deal for Arik (Martin)
Replacing Buckner (Maiocco)
Risky moves (Branch)
Jimmie Ward’s contract (Madson)
Bill McPherson, former SB winning assistant, passes (Maiocco)
NFL links
Tom Brady to sign with Tampa Bay (Bergman)
Philip Rivers going to the Colts (Shook)
Teddy Bridgewater heading to Carolina (Patra)
Jason Witten goes to Vegas (Archer)
Dallas gets Gerald McCoy (ESPN)