The 49ers cap situation is not in a great spot with OTAs set to open Monday. In fact, they have the least available space in the NFL according to Over the Cap.
San Francisco is working with just $673,752 in cap space, but their situation looks even worse in effective cap space. They’re over by $708,468 in effective cap space, which is “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster,” per OTC.
There’s some good news though: the 49ers have the means to rapidly clear several million in cap space. While there are a host of maneuvers they can make, unloading Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract is their most efficient way of generating room they don’t have with OTAs looming.
Whether they trade or release Garoppolo once he’s recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, the 49ers can clear $25.5 million in cap space. That’s a key reason why it’s hard to believe they’ll go into the year with him on the roster. While they don’t need the space for this year necessarily, they can roll that space over, and use it within the season to give themselves a little wiggle room.
Restructures and extensions can help clear some room, and perhaps San Francisco goes that route to try and get themselves under the cap once their nine-player rookie class is signed. Moving Garoppolo would be more efficient though. Either way, there’ll be some maneuvers before the year to help solve their current cap crunch.
