NFL rumors tracker: 49ers give Azeez Al-Shaair a second-round tender, 1-year offer for $3.98 million

Kyle’s update, 8:17 p.m. PT: Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the 49ers gave linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair a second-round tender. Al-Shaair, a restricted free agent, will have a one-year salary of $3.98 million — the salary for a free agent on a second-round tender.

Al-Shaair proved to be a playmaker for the Niners last season. Both Al-Shaair and Dre Greenlaw were banged up throughout the year.

Al-Shaair ended up starting 13 games last season and had an impressive 22 tackles for loss, per Sports Info Solutions. You don’t fake your way into that type of production. Based on his style of play, I’d bet on Al-Shaair becoming the better player between him and Greenlaw. I’d give Al-Shaair a long-term extension.

Kyle’s update, 6:16 p.m. PT: The 49ers tendered RG Daniel Brunskill at the right-of-first-refusal level for $2.43 million, per his agent.

That means the 49ers will have the option to match any offer sheet Brunskill receives from another team. At this level tender, the 49ers wouldn’t receive any draft compensation in return if they refused to match the opposing team's offer sheet.

Kyle’s update, 1:32 p.m. PT: The Patriots have traded right guard Shaq Mason, one of the better right guards in the NFL, to Tampa Bay for a fifth-round pick. Tom Brady gets a free upgrade for a Day 3 pick.

The Chargers released former Packers All-Pro right tackle Bryan Bulaga. They cleared $10.7 million in cap space. Bulaga played one game after recovering from a core muscle injury.

With Mike McGlinchey’s status up in the air, would signing Bulaga for a cheap deal make sense for the Niners at right tackle coming off injury?

Kyle’s update, 12:46 p.m. PT: Saleh isn’t done. The Jets signed safety Jordan Whitehead, who was an underrated piece in Tampa Bay. That makes three quality starters for the Jets this free agency.

Kyle’s update, 11:38 a.m. PT: According to Connor Hughes of The Athletic, The Jets have signed D.J. Reed. That was a name we had mentioned as a potential fit for the 49ers. Reed signed a three-year deal worth $33 million. The Niners weren’t paying Reed and Charvarius Ward.

Kyle’s update, 9:50 a.m.: According to Jordan Schultz, the Niners are meeting with Deshaun Watson. To me, this sounds like the Texans driving up the price for Watson so they’re not in negotiations with just one team.

We’re starting to see more and more teams involved all of a sudden despite a report on Monday saying Watson turned every team down besides two — the Saints and the Panthers.

No worries, Matt Maiocco to the rescue:

Kyle’s update, 9:35 a.m.: Marcus Williams, former Saints safety, signed a 4-year, $70 million deal to join the Ravens. We could probably expect more safety moves now that Williams and Justin Reid have signed.

Kyle’s update, 9:27 a.m. PT: It turns out that Gregory’s deal was never finalized with the Cowboys and he chose the Broncos instead.

Kyle’s update, 8:48 a.m. PT: The Steelers have agreed to a 3-year deal for $26.5 million with James Daniels. The 49ers were never going to pony up cash in free agency for the up-and-coming guard.

Adam Schefter reported that the Falcons have emerged as a sleeper team to acquire Texans QB, Deshaun Watson. Depending on what happens with Matt Ryan, that’s another QB on the market who could hurt the value of Jimmy Garoppolo.

The free-agent deals should continue to pour in today as we have one more “legal tampering period” day before these deals become official.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the 49ers restructured Dee Ford’s contract, which created $4.96 million in cap space for 2022 by adding voidable years to the end of Ford’s contract. Had the 49ers released Ford after June 1, they would have eaten more dead money than cap savings, so move ends up saving them more immediately.

Late Monday evening, the Chiefs re-worked Frank Clark’s contract to allow him to stay in Kansas City. Clark was a potential edge rusher target for the 49ers, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Trent Baalke and the Jags have thrown the free-agency market out of whack. Jones says Agents want to negotiate deals for their players based on Jacksonville’s valuations, but other teams are saying, “not so fast.”

The Rams released 4-time All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker. At 32, he’s a player the 49ers should look at. The Mitch Wishnowsky experiment has been average, at best.

The Cowboys re-signed edge rusher Randy Gregory, for $13 million per year. Gregory has an injury history, but his talent is undeniable.

The Titans released CB Janoris Jenkins. The 49ers signed their cornerback of the future. With Charvarius Ward, Emmanuel Moseley, and Ambry Thomas, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows believes Ward and Moseley start, then, on obvious passing downs, Moseley slides inside to the slot with Thomas playing outside — ala 2011 Chris Culliver and Carlos Rogers.