After a disastrous 2024 season, the San Francisco 49ers have some tough decisions to make.
This year has been one that could potentially lead the 49ers to make sweeping changes to their roster in hopes of reopening a new Super Bowl window after that window stretched with this year's group due to a spate of injuries, issues with Special teams and the red zone seemed to have problems closing.
One of the biggest changes they can make is on the defensive line, where parting ways with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave could be a necessary move for salary cap reasons.
Hargrave signed a four-year, $84 million contract in the 2023 offseason and never quite reached the level of game-destroyer the 49ers hoped he would be. He had a great game this season in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, but he also suffered a torn triceps in that game that cut his season short.
The 49ers need an overhaul on the defensive line and letting the 31-year-old walk ahead of his age-32 season is a move the team can make to revamp a defensive group that clearly hasn't been good enough the last two years Years.
Signing Hargrave should help the 49ers repeat some of their defensive success from the 2019 season. While the veteran defensive tackle was productive as a pass rusher with 72 pressures and nine sacks in 22 games (including the postseason), according to Pro Football Focus, he wasn't a particularly effective run defender and he didn't make life much easier for the rest of the defensive line.
Releasing Hargrave would cost the 49ers $24.86 million in dead cap next year while saving them $3.245 million and freeing up a spot on the defensive line for a younger player who can get snaps. Not to mention, the additional $3 million in savings will be significant for a team that needs to carefully manage the cap, with quarterback Brock Purdy likely due a hefty contract soon.
You could also consider him a post-June 1 cut, which would see his dead cap number drop to $7.375 million and savings increase to $20.73 million.
There is still something left in the tank for Hargrave, who can still be productive in a good defensive line. The 49ers are just at a point where the cap savings from cutting him could outweigh the reward of keeping him in the red and gold for another season.
