49ers free agency tracker day two: Dee Ford contract restructured

The San Francisco 49ers lost two players and gained one Monday, the opening day of the open tampering period, which kicks off free agency.

San Francisco lost left guard Laken Tomlinson and defensive tackle D.J. Jones.

Tomlinson had played nearly every snap at left guard since being traded to the 49ers from Detroit in 2017. He received a three-year deal worth $40 million, $27 million guaranteed, and a max value of $41.2 million from the New York Jets. Tomlinson will reunite with former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur who was the passing game coordinator during his time with the 49ers.

D.J. Jones agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos on a three-year, $30 million deal with $20 million fully guaranteed. Jones struggled to stay healthy during his time in San Francisco. Last season was the first time in Jones’s career he played every game.

Without Jones, the 49ers have weakened their run defense while strengthening their pass rush. Comparing the performance of Jones in 2021 to Javon Kinlaws’ rookie season in 2020, both players had similar snap totals. However, Kinlaw’s pass rush numbers outpace those put up by Jones this past season.

San Francisco made a splash signing for their secondary, adding former Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward. According to Ian Rapoport, it is a three-year, $40.5 million deal.

Ward fits the 49ers prototype for outside corners. He is big (6’1”, 195 pounds) with long arms and a strong tackler who is at his best in man coverage. In 2021, Ward allowed only 18 receptions on 46 targets when singled up on a wide receiver.

The signing of Ward may foretell the 49ers plan to replace K’Waun Williams. One option would be for Emmanuel Moseley to slide into the slot with Ward and second-year cornerback Ambry Thomas outside. San Francisco did this with Carlos Rogers and Chris Culliver under Vic Fangio during Jim Harbaugh’s tenure with the team.

The only knock against Ward is his health. Over the past two seasons, he has missed seven games.

6:17 – According to ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates, the 49ers have restructured the contract of Dee Ford. The move created $4.96 million in cap space for San Francisco while adding three voidable years.

This is a good move. The 49ers could have released Ford with a post-June 1 designation and saved $2.4 million against the cap, however, these savings would not hit their books until that time. The restructure allows San Francisco to double the savings now, while moving dead money into the future when the salary cap will be increasing with new television revenue coming in.

8:54 – San Francisco has agreed to terms with former Packers linebacker Oren Burks. Burks broke the news himself. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, this is a two-year deal worth up to $5 million.

Selected 88th overall by Green Bay in 2018, Burks has made only seven starts in his NFL career.

This move provides San Francisco a backup linebacker and core special teams player similar to Mark Nzeocha as the 49ers look to shore up special-teams units which have struggled in recent years. 

Burks had a career-high 10 tackles on special-teams last season.

Special-teams play will be an important piece to filling out the wide receiver room as well. Trent Sherfield last season being a good example of this.

3:20 – The NFL announced the compensatory picks for the 2022 draft. San Francisco received five in total, two in round 3 (picks 102 and 105), two in round 6 (picks 220 and 221) and one in round 7, pick picks 262 which is the final pick in the draft. One of the two third round selections will be headed to Miami as part of the trade last year which allowed San Francisco to move up to select Trey Lance.

The 49ers don’t have space on their roster to absorb 10 rookies. Expect them to use their draft capital to move up and down to grab the players they like. 

San Francisco’s picks for the upcoming draft look like this:

Round 2, Pick 61

Round 3, Pick 93

Round 3, Pick 102*

Round 3, Pick 105*

Round 4, Pick 133

Round 5, Pick 172

Round 6, Pick 186 from Denver

Round 6, Pick 220*

Round 6, Pick 221*

Round 7, Pick 262*

• denotes compensatory selection.

6:19 – According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, San Francisco has tendered Restricted Free Agent offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill at the right-of-first-refusal level, $2.43 million. This will give San Francisco the right to match any offer sheet Brunskill signs with another team. There is no draft compensation tied to this tender.

Brunskill’s versatility makes him a favorite with the 49ers coaching staff. During his time in San Francisco, Brunskill has started games at center, guard and tackle.

8:00 – NFL Network insider Mike Florio reports San Francisco is giving Restricted Free Agent linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair a second-round tender. Under this tender the 49ers will pay the former undrafted free agent $3.98 million in 2022 and would receive a second-round draft pick if Al-Shaair were to sign with another team. 

In 2021, Al-Shaair played a career high 730 defensive snaps. He recorded 102 tackles, forced one fumble, recovered two and had one interception. 

The 49ers gave Matt Breida a second-round tender in 2020, only to trade the running back during the draft. That’s unlikely to be the case with Al-Shaair unless they are unable to come to agreement on a long term deal.