GETTY Logan Ryan #26 of the New England Patriots answers questions during Super Bowl LI media availability at the J.W. Marriott on February 1, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
With the entire San Francisco 49ers squad in Santa Clara, California for training camp, there isn’t much time left for adding free agents.
That hasn’t stopped San Francisco, which has added tight end Jordan Reed and defensive end Dion Jordan in the past week as the team loads up for another run to the Super Bowl.
One of the biggest free agents in the NFL, defensive back Logan Ryan, hasn’t been signed yet after moving on from the Tennessee Titans at the end of their 2019 campaign.
Recently, the typical corner has taken a different approach to getting re-signed: identifying himself as a safety. Ryan has never been an out-and-out starter at safety, but has several snaps at the position over his seven-season career in the league.
Free agent Logan Ryan views himself as a safety, rather than the cornerback he’s generally listed as. To that end, his agent emailed all 32 GMs these top safety stats and asked them to compare his production. An interesting discussion to be sure as one of the top FAs looms.
Interestingly enough, Ryan doesn’t list 49ers free safety Jimmie Ward or strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, who are currently expected to be the starters heading into 2020.
Die-hard Niner with something to say? Join our community at Heavy on 49ers on Facebook!
Ryan’s Skills, Compared to Tartt
While Jimmie Ward isn’t necessarily considered to be one of the NFL’s top free safeties, he was an extremely solid part of the 49ers in the 2019 season and was locked up on a new deal accordingly.
Tartt did a fine job as well, but was generally considered to be one of the weaker players on the 49ers’ defense, starting 12 regular season games, recording no interceptions and totaling half a sack.
Ryan, on the other hand, had another impressive season in the NFL with multiple layers of impact: started all 16 games, totaled 4 interceptions, 4.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and a whopping 18 passes defended, a career high.
While Tartt did add a sack in the Super Bowl, Ryan boasted a pick-six off of former team New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady to ensure a Wild Card round win.
The only concern with Ryan? His actual position, and his price.
Ryan’s Fit with the 49ers
The major issue for San Francisco is obviously money. With just under $12 million in cap space and George Kittle’s new deal still a problem, there’s not a lot of money to be spent.
That being said, that doesn’t mean that the 49ers couldn’t pull the deal off, it would just require the departure of Tartt and another defensive player, preferably a corner like Ahkello Witherspoon who has been lackluster for the 49ers.
That would open up at least $6 million in cap space per Spotrac, which may be just enough to convince Ryan to join a competitive team that could look to pay him more should he excel for San Francisco.
Plus, while Tartt and Witherspoon’s absence may be concerning, Ryan’s belief in himself as a safety but a proven presence as a corner would mean that the 49ers would have a very likely upgrade at strong safety, but also, at worst, a very good No. 2 corner that would be able to flip between the two spots.
This deal is unlikely to happen, just due to the tightness of money, the lack of a Kittle deal and the time left remaining to get a deal done.
That being said, don’t be surprised if the 49ers give Ryan a chance as we get closer to the season. One of the NFL’s most proven free agents is still available, and he would be an upgrade at either position.
READ NEXT: 49ers Star Gives Encouraging Injury Update on Jimmy Garoppolo
Evan Reier is a sportswriter covering the San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com and local sports for the Montana Standard in Butte, Mont. Reach out to him on Twitter at @evanreier and join our 49ers community at Heavy on 49ers on Facebook.