The 49ers still do not know who will protect their starting quarter’s blind side in 2021.
Or who will back up their starting quarters.
The 49ers did not sign Trent Williams’ Pro Bowl approach on Tuesday to a contract extension, and they did not agree to agree to one of the many free agent rugby quarters, most of which are now off the board. . After Ryan Fitzpatrick (Washington) found a new home on Monday, Andy Dalton (Bears), Tyrod Taylor (Texans) and Jacoby Brissett (Dolphins) all found landing spots in the second and final day of the legal agency’s legal mess. Players can sign contracts on Wednesday, the first day of the new league year.
General manager John Lynch acknowledged last month that the 49ers needed to upgrade at the rugby quarter, noting that the 49ers’ record was 6-17 when Jimmy Garoppolo was sidelined with injuries since 2018.
The biggest priority this week, of course, is to make sure they retain Williams, 32, who will play a key role in helping Garoppolo recover.
The 49ers are reportedly the favorites to score Williams, but the eight-time Pro Bowl selection has attracted interest from teams that include the Chiefs, Colts and Bears. Presumably Williams is looking for a contract that will make him the NFL’s highest paid attacker. The title is held by David Bakhtiari’s left-wing suit, who earns an average of $ 23 million a year. Williams said he wants to sign a four- to five-year contract, and the 49ers and other teams will have to consider how much guaranteed money should be included in a long-term deal for a player who turns 33 in July.
The 49ers may be able to be forced out of their comfort zone if they want to keep Williams, given the possible dropout if they fail.
The market for free agency is not flooded with top-end tackles. The most talented, Eric Fisher (30) from Kansas City, is in the process of weakening a torn Achilles in January. Other options include Minnesota’s Riley Reiff (32) and Pittsburgh’s Alejandro Villanueva (32). If Williams retires, the chances will significantly increase that the 49ers will use their number 12 on the position. The most logical option is Rashawn Slater of Northwestern, who said on his pro day last week that he spoke to the 49ers.
As for the free agent options at the backup quarter, the list is much less attractive than Monday. The 49ers, with Garoppolo as their intended starter, could not match the opportunity and money Washington and Chicago offered to Fitzpatrick and Dalton, respectively. Both have concluded one-off $ 10 million deals and are expected to compete for a starting spot. Brissett and Taylor signed nearly $ 6 million worth of one-year contracts.
The 49ers’ top remaining options? These include Mitchell Trubisky of Chicago and Alex Smith of Washington. The 49ers allegedly had an interest in the Jets’ Sam Darnold, who is not a free agent and who should be acquired in a trade.
The 49ers did not add a free agent on Tuesday, but lost one when cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, 25, signed a $ 4 million one-year deal with the Seahawks. It was no surprise that the 49ers did not retain Witherspoon, a third pick in the third round in 2017, whose unprecedented tenure was marked by brilliance and benchmarks.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin was returned to the 49ers at a cost.
In a bizarre deal, Goodwin, who was traded to the Eagles in a draft deal in April, returned to the 49ers on Tuesday, the last day of the 2020 league year. Goodwin, 30, returned to the 49ers because the terms for the trade were not met after Goodwin ruled out last season. As a result, the 49ers must give Philadelphia its own seventh round of 2021. The 49ers now have nine choices in this draft.
The 49ers swapped Goodwin last year in a sixth-round exchange in which they moved up 20 places in the round. They are not expected to retain Goodwin, who could be released without a financial penalty.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch