SB Nation Reacts: 56% of 49ers fans think the team has had a disappointing offseason

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We polled 49ers fans last week asking if they gave a thumbs up to the front office for their work during the offseason. As one might expect, the results were split.

We received hundreds of thousands of responses, so thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer the question.

I’d say 56% is an accurate assessment of the fanbase. The more seasoned crowd understood this offseason was never going to involve singing a big-named, high-priced free agent. That’s the same group that also believes everything that comes up about Deebo Samuel is nonsense, and he’s not going anywhere — which I agree with.

Then, the hectic, rambunctious crowd will turn a signing from another team — where the Niners were never interested — and spin it as the team isn’t trying to win or made a mistake.

A hundred of you may have voted yes simply because you’ve been rooting for this team all of your life, while another hundred voted no because a certain quarterback remains on the roster. Of course, there are plenty of nuances to discuss in between, but that doesn’t go over well on social media.

Coming into the offseason, the 49ers had a massive hole at cornerback — based on how the NFC Championship ended up. Matthew Stafford threw for 337 yards. Cooper Kupp had 142 receiving yards, while Odell Beckham Jr. had 113. Neither had a reception longer than 30 yards, which tells you the Niners didn’t have a cornerback to stop either player on a down-to-down basis.

Enter Charvarius Ward. Ward matched up with some of the top wideouts in the NFL on an island last season with the Chiefs. At 25, the Niners hope they caught Ward in the midst of an ascending trajectory. Ward gave up a long pass to Bengals stud rookie Ja’Marr Chase. Outside of that, he gave up next to nothing in coverage all season. There were only two other instances in 2021 where Ward surrendered more than 50 yards in coverage in a game.

Since Ward wasn’t a household name, signing him seemed underwhelming. However, he should only improve with a defense that features two of the best players in the league at their positions. Also, it puts Emmanuel Moseley as CB2, where he’s at his best.

The voting isn’t a reflection of Ward. I’d imagine it’s due to Garoppolo’s $25 million cap hit. Without Jimmy on the roster, we’re not talking about whether or not the team can give Deebo the contract he desires.

Garoppolo’s contract hindered the team during free agency, and we’re seeing his cap number affect the team in different ways. If you voted no for another reason, we’d love to hear why.