Niners GM Trent Baalke & Co. have sauntered through this offseason with a certain defiance, and in one respect, you have to respect that the San Francisco 49ers have a plan and, well, they’re going to stick to it. Even if you don’t necessarily agree.
Their draft plan -- ignore immediate needs and get players for the future -- reinforces that mindset, even if many observers see it as simply whistling past the graveyard. Because this much is true: The Niners, with Monday’s retirement of defensive lineman Justin Smith, have lost 10 starters off last year’s 8-8 team.
ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando, in his annual offseason grades for each team, is unimpressed, and it’s hard to argue with him. At least, in mid-May.
Sando, with the help of ESPN analysts Bill Polian, Louis Riddick, Matt Williamson and Field Yates, gave the 49ers a D-plus for their offseason.
Yes, it is the lowest grade given out among the 32 NFL teams. In the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks were given a B-plus, the St. Louis Rams a B and the Arizona Cardinals a B-minus. Perhaps adding a little salt in the wound, the Niners’ Bay Area rival Oakland Raiders were also given a B-minus.
“Replacing Jim Harbaugh with Jim Tomsula was significant enough,” Sando wrote, “but this was also the offseason when San Francisco parted with a long list of key players from its Super Bowl season.”
Yates saw enough talent remaining on the roster to maybe win eight or nine games but saw the franchise at a crossroads where a rebuild may be needed.
Riddick said this season rests on the shoulders of Baalke and Tomsula while Williamson sees a silver lining with pass-rushers and depth at safety.
What grade would you give the Niners for their offseason moves?
