To say the San Francisco 49ers had an interesting offseason would be a massive understatement, as general manager John Lynch undoubtedly made some questionable decisions.
Despite having no idea when Brandon Aiyuk would be able to return, Lynch shipped Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders, receiving just a fifth-round pick in return. The Niners also took on a dead-cap hit in excess of $30 million. Sure, Samuel requested a trade, but San Francisco was under no obligation to honor his request.
And speaking of dead-cap hits, the 49ers took on one of more than $3 million by releasing fullback Kyle Juszczyk, only to re-sign him four days later to basically the same contract. And seemingly, how they paid for it was by trading running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings.
San Francisco also released Leonard Floyd in an attempt to get oft-injured Joey Bosa as a defensive line swap-out, which obviously didn't work, and also low-balled linebacker Dre Greenlaw before attempting to match the deal he got from the Denver Broncos, which Greenlaw rejected. Not a good look.
For our money, though—and for way too much of the Niners' money—the weirdest move made this offseason was the signing of blocking tight end Luke Farrell.
Make no mistake about it; Farrell is a true blocking tight end, as evidenced by the fact that in his first four NFL seasons, all with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ohio State alum caught just 36 passes for 318 yards with zero touchdowns.
Initially, it was reported that Farrell had inked a three-year deal worth up to $20.25 million. When the dust settled, however, Over The Cap revealed that the contract is for three years and $15.75 million, with $6 million in guaranteed money. The second figure is obviously better, but not by much. And again, it's simply far too much.
The 49ers don't utilize the two-tight-end formation all that often, so there's that. Last year's TE2 on the depth chart behind George Kittle, Eric Saubert, took just 377 offensive snaps, catching 11 passes for 97 yards with a touchdown. Saubert was making the veteran league minimum, by the way, with his base salary set at $1.125 million. That's much more reasonable.
Look, Farrell has been a solid pass blocker throughout his career and earned a strong 82.6 PFF grade in that regard a season ago. As a run blocker, however, his highest mark was 65.1 as a rookie in 2021. In the three years since, his grades have been 56.4, 49.6, and 61.9.
Overall, this was just a weird move for the 49ers to make, especially since it was crystal clear that they were attempting to cut costs this offseason.