Niners Nation
I think we all know the answer—or do we?
The San Francisco 49ers locked up one of their own, securing cornerback Deommodore Lenoir in a five-year extension.
So now what?
Lenoir was seen as a piece that may not be around in 2025 due to his superb play. This speculation was due to quarterback Brock Purdy’s expected mega deal at the season’s end and the notion that “you can’t pay everyone.” The good news on both those fronts is Lenoir is sticking around (obviously), but his deal is very team-friendly. KP pointed out that Lenoir is playing on less salary in 2025 than long-snapper Taybor Pepper.
That means the 49ers still have much of that $50 million-ish cap room they had before Lenoir got paid. But they still have a few other pieces besides Purdy to lock up. Below are a few notable players set to hit free agency:
This is on top of the apparent extension Brock Purdy will be eligible for. The 49ers cannot do an extension to Purdy until the season's end. They could, in theory, extend him during the postseason, but Purdy cannot be locked up until the 2024 regular season concludes.
We’ve already seen speculation about some free agents who will most likely walk. And they are from the list above. If you had a choice or say in all of this, especially after you got a very friendly deal with Lenoir, would you go after one of them before Purdy? Or start warming up the Brink’s truck now?
Purdy seems like the obvious choice and priority, but when you see that list, the 49ers could make things a bit more enticing for him by getting Banks locked up first. That lets Purdy know the pieces on his offensive line are intact—an offensive line improving week by week. The 49ers still need to look at the unit during the draft, but given how the line was a work in progress for so long and has improved, letting Banks walk isn’t ideal.
That said, Banks may have played out of the 49ers’ price range. The 49ers are very good at not putting themselves into salary cap hell, and if Banks’ contract were to cut into what they have planned for Purdy, they may have no choice. Regardless, I’d say Aaron Banks is the priority signing to get taken care of ASAP before Brock Purdy. You need the offensive line, and once you figure out how Banks’ deal would factor into your plans, you can start figuring out the Brock Purdy mega deal.
So maybe the 49ers should figure out Banks first and then put things together for Purdy. Not the other way around. Of course, there are other signings. We haven’t seen Greenlaw return to the field following his Achilles tear, and how he performs with whatever remaining games in the season may be what pushes...
