Five players the 49ers should sign to improve their roster

Disclaimer: I have no idea if the 49ers will sign any of these players.

On the eve of the NFL draft San Francisco restructured the contract of running back Christian McCaffrey. The move freed up $8.576 million, giving the 49ers $10.719 million in salary cap space.

Here are five players I think San Francisco should target with the additional cap space to enhance their roster.

1.) Justin Houston – EDGE, Ravens

If the 49ers are looking to add a situational pass rusher, look no further than Houston.

What separates Houston from the rest of the pass rushers on this list is his productivity does not require a high volume of snaps. The 12-year veteran racked up 9.5 sacks last year for the Ravens while playing just 397 snaps.

2.) Frank Clark – EDGE, Chiefs

Clark recorded five sacks and 13 quarterback hits for the Chiefs in 2022.

A two-time Super Bowl champion with Kansas City, Clark has been terrific in the playoffs. In 12 postseason games for the Chiefs Clark has racked up 10.5 sacks and 14 hits on the quarterback.

The downside is the number of snaps it took Clark to reach those totals. The veteran played at least 69 percent of the defensive snaps each season in Kansas City.

3.) Leonard Floyd – EDGE, Rams

Originally a first-round pick of Chicago in 2016, Floyd saw his numbers skyrocket while playing alongside Aaron Donald in Los Angeles.

Floyd recorded 29 sacks over the course of three seasons with the Rams. Last season saw Floyd finish with nine sacks and a career high 22 quarterback hits.

The veteran played at least 916 snaps each season in Los Angeles.

4.) Yannick Ngakoue – EDGE, Colts

Ngakoue has recorded at least eight sacks in each of his seven seasons in the NFL. As a member of the Indianapolis Colts last season, Ngakoue put together 9.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits while playing 732 snaps.

5.) Marcus Peters – Cornerback, Ravens

After missing all of 2021 due to a torn ACL, Peters struggled in 2022. The veteran allowed a career worst passer rating of 113.5.

If Peters is willing to take a team friendly deal, San Francisco would be a good place for a bounce back season. The 49ers have taken fliers on veteran defensive backs in recent years.

This article has 35 Comments

  1. Nice piece, Jack.
    Yannick and Clark are the youngest in this group at 28 and 29 yrs old.
    Under the supervision of Kocurek, I believe either of these players could be successful. Personally, I would roll with Yannick at this point.

    1. agree. Yannick is the way to go. I am surprised that they have not signed him. Jackson is still nto ready.

      1. Allie, i agree, we should sign Yannik…..but we have no idea what Jackson is, and that is the only truth. It annoys me when we pass opinion off as fact. Lets look at the evidence……
        1. DJ did disappear at the end of the year, many claim it was conditioning….. however, this is the only evidence supporting your theory……the fact he didn’t even suit up at the end of ’22

        evidence you are wrong-
        1. they didn’t sign a big name / productive pass rusher.
        2. they didn’t draft one early, with one of their first 3 picks.
        3. he played a lot as a rookie.
        4, Usually , rookies don’t play at all around here.
        5. Aaron Banks didn’t play as a rookie, came it and played very well 2nd year……after many assumed he was a bust…….proving we don’t know $h!t

        As i said first……i would LOVE to sign Yannik!!! he’s the youngest, very consistent and in need of a home. he has bounced around from team to team (maybe a red flag) and could sign here for 4-6 years. This would allow us to spread the $ out over many years, allow him to join a winning organization, with other established pass rushers and improve his stats as well as compete for a SB.

        Grant Cohn sees it as an indictment on DJ if we sign Yannik or a guy like him…….but i disagree!
        Who spells Bosa? Wh spells DJ? who backs them up? the answer to all is no one!? Beal? Bryant?

        DJ is unproven, and that is a fact! We need 3-4 really good edge rushers as well as a few pass rushers from the DT position to fulfill what this defense is supposed to be and get after #6!!

  2. Hey, AES and Old Coach! I agree with the both of you to a point. But! Don’t forget that the 49ers also have to save some money to pay Nick Bosa that huge contract he’s going to get. Except for Bosa, sometimes breaking the bank tends to backfire come salary cap time. Although to agree with AES, Yannick sounds pretty good to pair with Hargrave, Bosa, Kinlaw, and Drake. What tremendous depth we would have to give guys rest and in case of that lousy injury bug.

    1. Yes. It’s based on their history of how they do things in regards to their salary cap. I am confident that they will not be foolish enough to let him go. They will make sure that they can afford him. Man we don’t want him ending up with the other west rivals. Especially Seattle, who are catching up to us again. Outside the division, oh gosh we don’t want him ending up with my two hated teams: The Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.

    2. Capt K,
      It not a massive savings, but if the 49ers let Kinlaw walk in 2024, it’s about a 2.7mil savings.
      Also, drafting players last month beginning in the 3rd rd may have benefitted the 49ers from having to put out more money for a 1st rd pick.

      If the 49ers want to sign one of these players, they’ll find a way, without effecting Bosa’s deal, imho.

      1. Yes, exactly. He may not have been a good GM, but I remember Terry Donahue got the Niners out of salary cap limbo and enabled us to afford other players and sign our own that was worth keeping.

  3. K,
    Do you think they will hold onto that cap space and roll it over into next years cap and use it on Bosa?

  4. Old Coach. I do not know how my comment ended up above yours, but that’s my answer to you. Can’t wait for next season.

  5. Coach, I’ve always liked Houston, but at 34 YO I’d be concerned as to how much he has left in the tank. But, used wisely he could still be effective.

    1. AES,
      I don’t think it matters. I believe the 49ers are set on Jackson. I have heard he looks great and it was his conditioning that was the problem late last year. I thinks that they intend on using C. Ferrell as a run down player replacing Bosa and Jackson on a regular rotation with Jackson, Bosa and Hyder/Beal on passing downs

      1. Coach,
        It probably doesn’t matter. I was just adding my opinion on Jack’s post.

        I would like to see Jackson take a big step this year. There were instances when Jackson looked good in TC last summer, but then ran out of gas by seasons end. If he can build up his stamina he can be a nice contributor this season.

        Also, with C. Ferrell now in the fold, he could finally find success under Kocurek’s tutelage.
        But, I wouldn’t put it pass the 49ers to look into signing one of the above FA players if Jackson’s development is to slow.

    1. Hi Everyone,

      If you see comments that are pulled from the post, please disregard. We are aware of the SPAM and working on keeping it from continuing to pop up moving forward. I apologize for the inconvenience.

  6. 1. Colin Kaepernick

    He would instantly upgrade the QB room and be a mentor for Lance. I guarantee he is still good enough to not only start for us and also be the best QB in the NFC again. But we know it won’t happen because this sorry franchise embraces losers. The Yorks made there bed and now they have to lie in it.

    1. Bay,
      No offense intended to CK but I have to go with John Brodie. I think Tom Brady has proven to us all that an 87yo is not too old to be an NFL QB. I hear Brodie has made a miraculous recovery from his stroke and his arm should be well rested. I know he is a long shot but not that much more than a 35yo who hasn’t played since 2016 but if Brodie isn’t available than CK would be my next best choice but wait a minute is Y.A. still around?

    2. Bay,
      You need to let it go, my friend. It’s done and over with. Time to move forward and get on-board with the current “winning” regime.

      Also, back in 2018, the York’s were reported to be worth 2.5Bil. Whether they sleep at home on a yacht, luxury plane or pretty much anywhere they want, I’m convinced that they are sleeping quite comfortable.

      As a long time contributor on the blog I would say:
      Remember what John Rambo said, “let it go” lol.

        1. Nah, Bay goes back to the days of Maiocco. I owe him enough respect not to resort to name calling even when I sometimes vehemently disagree with him.
          Call it mutual respect because he and I started together on this site.

              1. The answer is he doesn’t . This and the continual mentions of his boyfriend indicates he has emotional needs that play out on this blog.

              2. “This and the continual mentions of his boyfriend indicates he has emotional needs that play out on this blog.”

                Actually, that doesn’t bother me either.
                But seriously, it might do you well not to respond to his post because you really seem bothered by them.

              3. If you review the comments you might understand that I’ve responded to you not him.

              4. AES,
                You mentioned that you have been here since Maiocco. I don’t remember who the moderator was when I started here. I do remember the HC was Singletary. I lurked my first year and started posting right before they hired Harbaugh. Using HCs as a measure when did you start here?

              5. Coach,
                I’m not exactly sure when the The 49ers Blog begin, but I’m thinking that it could have been around the time that Mike Nolan was fired and Singletary took over.
                The only poster I remember from that period is Hofer67.

              6. “If you review the comments you might understand that I’ve responded to you not him.”

                I have never called Bay or anyone “stupid” on this blog. You might have responded to me, but I chose to respect someone I happen to consider an Inside the 49ers Blog bud, which I can do.
                Now let’s get back to football.

    3. bay the worst football fan! c’mon dude!!!! you love the TEAM first……players second!
      Act like a real fan, or piss off bud! Dont bring your mental illness around here….

    4. Bay…unlike OC, any offense taken, is intended…it’s time you quit swingin off his Shillelagh…..Sackorpick was an exceptional athlete….better suited to be an NFL TE, than a QB…that being said, if we’re gonna fire up the ‘Way Back Machine’, then I’m with OC on this….I’d take John Brodie any day over your has been, that never was

    1. Yes, “the great” is only way to describe this football giant. My uncle had season tickets and in the early/mid 60s I’d accompany him to a Cleveland Browns game every fall. where I witnessed several of Brown’s memorable runs. No question but he was the greatest fullback of all time. And he had the good sense to retire at the peak of his career and begin making films, including that unforgettable dash in “The Dirty Dozen.”

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