It’s not difficult to look at the San Francisco 49ers’ offseason to-do list and find their top priority.
Quarterback Brock Purdy is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract, which means he’s eligible for an extension this offseason. Ironing out that contract to ensure the satisfaction of their franchise quarterback and giving themselves a firm understanding of where they stand with the salary cap has to be paramount for San Francisco.
Pro Football Focus correctly identified Purdy’s contract as the top priority for the 49ers.
Via PFF:
San Francisco had an all-star team of players who found themselves on the injured/reserve list this season. A healthy version of this team is still a likely playoff contender. The question is how many of those players can continue to fit on this team if Brock Purdy signs a massive extension.
If Purdy were to sign an extension in the same stratosphere as Jordan Love‘s or Trevor Lawrence‘s, it’s possible they won’t be able to re-sign pending free agents such as Charvarius Ward or Dre Greenlaw. Deebo Samuel could also be an expendable piece on the trade market. Incoming negotiations with Brock Purdy will heavily influence the future structure of this roster.
While decisions about Greenlaw, Samuel and Ward are all important – they pale in comparison to the gravity of Purdy’s deal.
That got us thinking about what the next biggest priority would be for the 49ers this offseason. There are a few clear frontrunners, but one stands out above the rest when trying to grasp how San Francisco has constructed its recent run of Super Bowl contenders.
The 49ers badly need to overhaul their defensive line. In almost all of their deep playoff runs under head coach Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco had a deep defensive front that was effective at stopping the run and persistently got after the quarterback. That started to wane some in 2023, then they didn’t do enough to fix it in the offseason. In 2024 it became an Achilles heel for their defense all year, especially once defensive tackle Javon Hargrave went down with a season-ending triceps tear in Week 3.
While the offensive line also stands out as an area they need to improve in the offseason, they’ve been able to make do with some patchwork units over the years. That’s not to say they can let the OL go by the wayside. But when lining up what group the team should devote more resources to first, the defensive line comes in first in the group of non-Purdy offseason priorities.