GETTY Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi's Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Santa Clara, California.
The San Francisco 49ers are a puzzling franchise traversing a volatile bridge between the present and the future.
The health of several key players restored as the team approaches the regular season, the 49ers have a “win now” roster. Yet, San Francisco also mortgaged its immediate future (first round picks in the next two NFL Drafts) to make a longer-term investment in rookie quarterback Trey Lance.
The dichotomy between playing for today and playing for tomorrow simultaneously, and against the backdrop of uncertainty that always defines NFL championship windows, the 49ers’ situation ultimately begs one complex question when it comes to roster decisions: Should the team go all-in now or push its investments further into the future?
By trading for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, the 49ers might just be able to pull off both.
Julio Jones’ Age Concerns Could be Mitigated in San Francisco
GettyJulio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The 32-year-old Jones is a 10-year veteran of the league, which is a long career for any player at any position. But the seven-time Pro Bowler has also been highly reliable regardless of age.
Jones never missed more than two games across a six-year run, which came to an end in 2020. The wideout netted 771 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 51 grabs last season after appearing in only nine games throughout an injury-nagged year.
But during the six seasons prior, Jones’ worst output was 99 catches for nearly 1,400 yards. Two of those years he played for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was then the offensive coordinator for the Falcons.
Shanahan’s familiarity with Jones, not to mention their shared success, is likely to help the receiver and the 49ers get the highest level of production possible out of the superstar wideout as continues to age — assuming a trade actually went down.
Shanahan noted his feelings on signing players like Jones prior to the 2018 NFL Draft.
“If there’s a Julio Jones available and you have the opportunity to get him, you go get him,” Shanahan said. “It’s worth it. Whatever the price is, whatever the draft pick is, go get him.”
49ers Signing Jones Would be a Move for Now and Later, Sort of
GettyJimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers.
Were the 49ers to sign Jones, he would join a solid wide receiver corps headed up by Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Affording projected QB-1 Jimmy Garoppolo a wideout tandem of those two and Jones, the 49ers offense would be nearly as formidable as its defense is expected to be.
Visions of a Super Bowl berth begin to dance in the head.
The decision could also prove precarious, however. San Francisco has the cap space to get the deal done, with roughly $18 million in room.
Jones will make $15.3 million this year and Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has made it clear that knocking $15 million off the team’s cap, which would happen if the Falcons traded Jones after June 1, is a proposition with value to his franchise.
Jones has two years beyond this season on his deal and will be owed just over $11.5 million in each of the next two campaigns. For a player of Jones’ caliber, who is already so familiar with Shanahan and his offense, the number seems reasonable. He would also be a heck of a target to help rookie Trey Lance transition comfortably to a new NFL career, even at the ages of 33 and 34, assuming that transition does not begin this season.
But how much the 49ers would have to give up to sign Jones is the first question. The team is already without first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, which the 49ers parted with as part of the trade to move up and select Lance. Mortgaging even more of their first-round draft capital could hamstring San Francisco at crucial moments in the future, when the team would presumably still be contending in the NFC.
A Jones signing would also potentially jeopardize the return of players who will soon be in need of new, and sometimes higher-paying, contracts.
Linebacker Fred Warner is expected to sign a new deal before the season, while returning edge rusher Nick Bosa is projected to command a significant contract in the near future. Running back Raheem Mostert and several contributors in the 49ers defensive backfield will also be up for new contracts after next season, among other players of note.
The NFL is a business of frequent turnover, and any addition of Jones would certainly shakeup the 49ers draft future as well as their returning roster over the next couple of seasons.
However, with a level of roster talent in 2021 similar to that of the 2019 team, a season in which the 49ers found themselves competing in the Super Bowl, it may be time for the 49ers to push all their chips into the middle.
Because a player like Jones won’t just help the 49ers win the hand they’ve been dealt this season, but will bolster their chances in revolutions to come.