How the 49ers are using the Rams' blueprint to rebuild around Brock Purdy

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers began laying the way to backmost Brock Purdy becoming the highest-paid subordinate successful franchise past astir 4 years earlier it happened.

In the 2021 offseason, the Niners decided backmost Jimmy Garoppolo was not successful their semipermanent plans -- conscionable 3 years aft they made him the league's highest paid subordinate ($27.5 cardinal per year).

General manager John Lynch told ESPN past week that helium and manager Kyle Shanahan combed done three-year projections from enforcement vice president of shot operations Paraag Marathe, adjunct wide manager Brian Hampton and their staffs, showing them that the backmost marketplace was astir to explode.

The 49ers besides had aggregate prima players heading toward position-defining contracts, which, combined with Garoppolo's wounded past and limitations made the prime academic, according to Lynch.

It was clip to determination connected to idiosyncratic younger and cheaper.

"We felt similar if we got a backmost connected a rookie deal, we could enactment unneurotic a squad that would beryllium truly hard to woody with," Lynch said. "When you person that, it's a batch easier to person a batch much stars crossed the remainder of your roster. Not conscionable stars, but high-end depth, which we've had for a agelong time."

In today's NFL, top-end backmost contracts person go onerous capable that teams, similar the 49ers, indispensable statesman readying years successful beforehand for those cap-eating deals. It often requires a roster reset that includes sacrificing bully players, a willingness to devour dormant wealth to region players who mightiness not beryllium producing adjacent to their woody and focusing connected earning compensatory draught picks to person much shots astatine drafting talented, cost-controlled players to regenerate those who determination on.

After Shanahan and Lynch decided to determination connected from Garoppolo, they drafted Trey Lance. The anticipation was Lance would make into 1 of the highest-paid quarterbacks successful the league.

While it didn't rather cookware retired that way, the 49ers' fiscal reckoning astatine backmost inactive arrived this offseason successful the signifier of Purdy, who signed a five-year, $265 cardinal deal successful April that includes $181 cardinal successful guarantees.

What resulted was 1 of the astir melodramatic roster resets successful NFL history. The Niners said goodbye to astir 20 players, 15 of whom landed deals elsewhere worthy up to a maximum of $341.5 million.

To regenerate those departed contributors, the 49ers focused connected the 2025 NFL draft and rebuilding their defense. It was a roster reimagining pursuing a akin blueprint of the 2023 Los Angeles Rams and 2024 Buffalo Bills, some teams that Lynch says his unit spent clip studying earlier the offseason began.

Those Rams traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey and receiver Allen Robinson, fto linebacker Read Entire Article