By Scooter_McG
The 49ers have agreed to terms on a 2 year deal worth a reported $5M with free agent LB Oren Burks. Burks, a former third round pick in the 2018 draft, spent the past four years with the Green Bay Packers and was primarily a backup LB and special teams player.
Burks played in 59 regular season games over the past four seasons, but played only 480 defensive snaps with 7 starts, accumulating 92 total tackles over that span. The 2021 season saw Burks log his most defensive snaps in a season with 205, or 19% of the Packers total defensive snaps. However, Burks has been a mainstay of the Packers special teams units, playing 1,175 STs snaps over the past four years.
While Burks never settled into a starting role with the Packers, he has the desired athletic traits that have appealed to the 49ers in recent years at the LB position. At the 2018 combine Burks measured in at 6'3" and 233lbs, and put on a show in the athletic testing. He ran a 4.59s 40 time with a 39.5" vertical, 131" broad, sub 7.0s 3-cone and 4.15s short shuttle.
Like many of the LBs the 49ers have targeted in recent years, Burks split time between safety and LB in college, showing his athleticism in coverage.
While at first glance it would seem this move is about strengthening the special teams unit, I suspect there is a decent chance Burks will be in the mix for one of the top 3 LB positions for the 49ers in 2022. His profiles as a similar player to Al-Shaair and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles who can fly to the football while also providing special teams value.
The move may also signal the 49ers are expecting to be moving on from one of either Al-Shaair or Greenlaw this offseason. There has been rumours the team has fielded offers for Greenlaw, while the 49ers have not tendered restricted free agent Al-Shaair.
As soon as they signed him I thought the writing was on the wall for one of either Greenlaw or Al-Shaair to be traded.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I suspect it may be more a signal that they won't be re-signing Al-Shaair. But trading Greenlaw would not surprise.
DeleteScratch that, Al-Shaair has been given a 2nd round tender. Definitely feels like one of Al-Shaair or Greenlaw could be traded.
DeleteBrunskill has been tendered by the 49ers at the right of first refusal level.
ReplyDeleteFigured. His utility across the line is valuable.
DeleteI just read where, Sky Moore had the fastest 10 yard split at 1.35 I think.
ReplyDeleteEbukam/Clark last season:
ReplyDeletePass Rush Grade: 62.9/64.0
Pass Rush Win Rate: 13.1%/13.0%
Pass Rush Prod. Rating: 6.4/5.9
Grade vs. Run: 65.0/45.0
Missed Tackles: 0/13
Well, it happened. The 49ers are stuck holding the bag for at least another 5-6 weeks, because Kyle Shanahan is stubborn to a fault!
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake about it .... this is all on Kyle. Kyle is the one who overplayed his hand. He seems incapable of growing as a human being, because he is like an ex-friend of mine who always has to be right. We all know how toxic this type of personality can be, because we all have known people like this.
This is a perfect example of why I question whether Kyle will ever get this team over the hump. Don't get me wrong ... I am not questioning Kyle's offensive genius, because as I have said a million times, I think he's absolutely brilliant when it comes to X's and O's. But he isn't cut out to be at the top of the food chain when it comes to the personnel decisions, and it's this flaw that has ultimately led all of Kyle's teams to ultimately come up short in the past, and I fear this will continue if he's incapable of change (which I think he probably is at this stage)!
DeleteSo your word was only good for 2 months?
DeleteWow.
Field Yates
ReplyDelete@FieldYates
The 49ers restructured the contracts of TE George Kittle and DT Arik Armstead, creating $18.756M in 2022 cap space, per source.
9:02 AM · Mar 16, 2022
Told ya they wouldn't release him. I can't imagine other teams thought they would either. Now they know if they want him they gotta pay the price.
ReplyDeleteIn the negotiation business, one never pins oneself in a corner with these sort of semi-artificial deadlines. Negotiations can now continue with the Colts and others without the Niners being under this deadline pressure.
DeleteJust so you know, Razor, having to restructure contracts in order to hold onto a QB you no longer need, is NOT a net possible for the 49ers. These restructures only make Armstead's & Kittle's contracts riskier moving forward.
DeleteAnd for what, a 6th round pick?
Here's the thing working against Jimmy, besides the fact that he's made of glass .... QB's build their legacy in the PLAYOFFS! Not the regular season, the PLAYOFFS!
Jimmy is one of the worst big game quarterbacks I have ever seen. Especially compared to how he sometimes plays in less meaningful games.
Kyle has egg on his face now, and Jimmy's likely not go to recoup his trade value, simply by waiting for his shoulder and thumb to heal. And until the 49ers get Jimmy off the books, it's not Trey's team, which I think is really unfair to Trey, and it's a shame, really!
We won't know the true ramifications of these restructures for years, because by 2027 the cap is likely to be at or near $300 million.
DeleteIt's not just kicking the cap hit down the road, Razor. If it were that simple, teams would restructure every players contract, every single year, wouldn't they?
DeleteThese contracts get more expensive every time they restructure them like this, which is why the 49ers waited to do this until the last resort. Sure, the salary cap will go up, but it still means less money to spend against the cap in the coming years.
DeleteIf it were that simple, teams would restructure every players contract, every single year, wouldn't they?
DeleteThey do:
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/transactions/restructure/
Besides that, Jimmy had to be on the roster until 1pm PST today.
DeleteLOL, teams restructure 1/4 of their contracts every year?
DeleteJimmy had to be on the roster until 1:00 PM today?
I don't follow.
I understand that a trade is final until the new league years starts, that's why they have a legal tampering period. Trades can only become official at 1:00 today. That didn't mean the 49ers needed to restructure Armstead and Kittle if they would have had a deal in principle for Jimmy, and in fact they most likely wouldn't have had to restructure if they had a trade set up for Jimmy, unless they really wanted to go crazy in FA which doesn't make a lot of sense either, due to the fact that they have other players they need to resign, PLUS Bosa and Deebo need extensions. What this probably ended up costing the 49ers are a couple midlevel FA's, or perhaps one more big splurge like Chandler jones.
Their Garoppolo plan blew up on them Razor, quit fighting the facts.
DeleteThis wasn't the plan, I can assure you.
Can they still salvage the situation? Maybe, but it's getting tougher and tougher with every passing day.
With every passing HOUR!
DeleteAgain, restructuring contracts isn't the end of the world. I never said it was. But you DON"T DO IT UNLESS YOU FEEL LIKE YOU MUST, because all it does is kick the can down the road, making the contract more expensive in eventuality.
DeleteThey had to do these restructures regardless. A JG trade couldn't officially occur until after the new year started, and they needed to be under the cap.
DeleteI outlined all this, and the ability to hold onto JG past the start of the new year, in a previous article.
Stop over dramatizing it.
It isn't ideal, but the reality is they haven't really done anything they wouldn't have done even if they had a deal for JG in place.
No, Scooter, you are misunderstanding how it works.
DeleteThe trades happen simultaneously to the start of the new league year. That's what the tampering period is all about. The NFL is smarter than that, Scooter, come on. That would be silly if it was set up like that.
I suggest you do your homework, bro, and don't make definitive statements about things that you don't understand.
If the 49ers would have had a trade lined up, it becomes official at the exact same time as the new league year starts.
DeleteThe Niners blew it. just accept this fact and move on. Like I said, it's not the end of the world, it's just not good business. I'm much less worried about having to restructure contracts than I am worried that Jimmy has next to ZERO trade value at this point, and I don't see that changing before the draft.
The whole reason for the "legal tampering period", is so that teams don't have to clear extra cap space if they plan on trading plyers in order to make the cap.
DeleteIf you think that Jimmy's going to suddenly have more trade value in 6 weeks from now, than he does now, I have a bridge to sell you. It's always possible that something can change, but the most likely scenario is, the more time that goes by, the more time teams have to get their QB situations settled. teams do not like to go into the pre-draft period not knowing who they want as their QB for that season!
It's common sense bro.
DeleteAnd the one thing that this situation tells us without any doubt, and that is that, at this point and time, there is not much of a market for Jimmy around the entire league. That's a remarkable thing considering the 49ers recent success with Jimmy at the helm, and it speaks to the FACT that, the league believes the 49ers have had success over the last few season IN SPITE of Garoppolo!
DeleteFACT!
Fair enough, I am not across that enough to know for sure.
DeleteEither way the team was always going to need to restructure contracts, whether it be now or later, to sign draft picks, do extensions and have space under the cap for in-season transactions.
FWIW, Josh Dubow of the Associated Press said the 49ers needed to be under the cap prior to any trade of JG.
DeleteAnd FYI, this kind of restructuring is exactly why the 49ers can't get Dee Ford off of their books.
ReplyDeleteNO BUENO!
Kurtenbach: "The 49ers have botched their grand Jimmy Garoppolo Plan"
ReplyDeleteAmen to that!
And, by the way, teams know that the 49ers still need to use Jimmy's salary to sign their draft prospects, and extend Bosa and Deebo.
ReplyDeleteAll this restructuring does is delay the inevitable until the draft.
It's bad business and EVERYONE KNOWS IT, so quit be shills for Kyle and John.
Well, I mean quit being shills for Kyle. This is Kyle's mess, not John Lynch's mess!
DeleteExactly. They need it to sign draft picks and extensions. They don't need that money right now.
DeleteThey don't need any more free agents? That's news.
DeleteMeanwhile, the Dolphins who have plenty of cap space, sign the 49ers best RB.
Signing their rookies, doing extensions and leaving room for in-season signings (which most teams like to leave around $10M in space for) combined will likely be around $20M. JG's salary will mostly go to that.
DeleteThey needed to restructure contracts to fit FAs in regardless. All keeping JG for now does is change the order of when things happen.
It honestly is not the big deal you are making it out to be.
The rides not over. Maybe it's a little too bumpy for you. Fasten your seatbelts. It's gonna get wild.
ReplyDeleteCould the Browns and the Colts end up in a bidding war for Jimmy G?
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone in here that would take Baker over Jimmy G? 49Reasons?
ReplyDeleteI'd be tempted. But mainly for the TV commercials. The guy has a future in the booth once his playing days are done.
DeleteHa! Yea, he did have some good ones. Jimmy, not so much.
DeleteMayfield vs Garoppolo is a push. Even money.
DeleteYou can't win a Super Bowl with either guy, so I guess it comes down to the money, and Baker was way, way, way cheaper last season.
I doubt the Browns want either QB this year. Who knows if Jimmy's shoulder will even be ready by training camp?
DeletePeople have complications from surgeries like that all the time, guys. You know that.
DeleteMy gosh, Alex Smith almost died from complications of a broken leg, after surgery.
DeleteInvasive shoulder surgery can cause trouble. Come on guys, use your heads. Part of the reason Jimmy has almost zero trade value is because he's currently recovering from surgery on his throwing shoulder, on top of a torn thumb ligament. Too risky at $26M for 2022!
DeleteChris Mortensen on ESPN:
ReplyDelete“Jimmy Garoppolo is one I would not ignore to Cleveland.”
Adds that the Browns want “an adult” at quarterback.
DT Hassan Ridgeway signing with the 49ers on a 1 year, $2.5M deal - $1M guaranteed. Not a direct replacement for Jones I suspect - that will be Kinlaw's role - but Ridgeway will add nice depth to the DT rotation along with Givens and Hurst.
ReplyDeleteTwo players that need to show up this year, Kinlaw and Banks.
DeleteLance Zierlein on Ridgeway:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nfl.com/prospects/hassan-ridgeway/32005249-4429-9361-91c7-7d7e2cc3477b
Looks like Mostert is signing with Miami.
ReplyDeleteLosing Mostert really bothers me, but I'm not surprised!
DeleteThese are the problems when you run out of money to offer players because you have $26M tied in a player you don't even want
BTW, I'd take Miami's runningback room now, over the 49ers, any day!
DeleteBy the time the 49ers free up that $25.5M, all the decent FA's will be long gone.
DeleteThat's why, the more money you have tied up before free agency, the more of a disadvantage your team is at in the free agent market.
DeleteNiner fans are pissed off about losing Mostert while Jimmy is still on the team.
I'd take Mitchell over everyone of Miami's backs, and I'd lay you 10 to 1 odds McDaniels would too.
DeleteMostert is a luxury item that spends most of his time on IR. Let Miami pay him north of $3M.
DeleteAs I outlined above, holding onto JG isn't really impacting on their ability to sign FAs. The team would need around $20M anyway for signing draft picks, doing extensions and having cap space for in-season transactions.
The team is currently making a choice between restructuring other contracts or signing FAs. As was always going to be the case.
Well, I'm frustrated with losing Mostert, very frustrated in fact, but if we are still counting Deebo as part of the RB corp, I'd actually give the edge to the 49ers.
DeleteA luxury item maybe, but man when he would break a run it was a thing of beauty to behold. Ditto for Breida as well.
DeleteAgreed, Cubus. Hope he has a good career down there for Mike's Dolphins.
DeleteMitchell's cheap, the 49ers should be able to afford to pay Mostert $3M, that way they don't have to wear Deebo out.
ReplyDeleteBut the 49ers don't like restructuring contracts, Scooter. P. Marathe has a clear track record in that regard.
Yep, though they have been more willing to do so in recent years. But that's the decision they are making - whether to restructure contracts to sign FAs or not. And that was always going to be the case. Holding onto JG for now doesn't really change that.
DeleteBTW, I do like the way the 49ers are handling the DeShaun Watson situation. ShanaLynch are getting that situation right.
ReplyDeleteThere's some speedy backs on day 3 the 49ers can look at in the draft.
ReplyDeleteTrestan Ebner outta Baylor is an interesting player.
ReplyDeletehow many games will Mostert play before he gets hurt. 5-6 ?
ReplyDelete