The San Francisco 49ers spent much of the offseason letting talented players walk away.
At least a couple of those moves now have a financial benefit in the Bay Area.
The 49ers released two players with “Post-June 1” designation, allowing their cap implications to be split over two seasons. Now that it’s June 2, San Francisco officially gets the $5.6 million in savings from releasing Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins.
That $5.6 million is based on the additional savings generated by releasing these guys after June 1 as opposed to before, and doesn’t include any unpaid, non-guaranteed salary. Teams used to have to wait to actually release players until after the actual date, but now they can release them ahead of time and just designate them in this special way.
Hargrave is a two-time Pro Bowler on the interior of the defensive line. He spent the last two seasons with the 49ers, had 7.0 sacks in 2023 but then only played three games in 2024. He has joined the Minnesota Vikings.
Collins spent just a year in San Francisco, getting 5.0 sacks, and is now a Cleveland Browns D-tackle.
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The 49ers knew heading into this offseason that they had to free up money.
It’s already been spent, essentially, with the huge extensions for Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner.
Given the amount of money on those deals, an extra $5.6 million doesn’t even seem like all that much. But it’s something, even if it meant letting two veteran defensive tackles go elsewhere.
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