Trey Lance’s departure to the Dallas Cowboys has created a significant ripple effect on the 49ers' salary-cap situation moving forward.
The trade freed up $940,000 in 2023 salary-cap space for the 49ers, with that number jumping to $5.3 million in freed cap space in 2024.
During his postgame press conference, head coach Kyle Shanahan alluded to how heavily the 49ers' need for financial flexibility weighed in on the decision to ultimately part ways with the former first-round draft pick.
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“You’d love to keep a third guy to develop, especially a guy that you really, really love, and believe that he could do it someday," Shanahan said. “But to do that for $7 million dollars over two years with the places we are in the cap, when you can’t provide those reps, and you got other things with our team and what we’re doing, that to me doesn’t make much sense for the Niners.
“I wish it would, because hell yeah, we’d love to just keep him until eventually it works out, but that clock ran out here, and that’s why we had to make a real tough decision.”
For a team that is built to win now, it would be difficult for the 49ers to justify a hefty cap hit on a quarterback who would be third on the depth chart.
“Trey's on the minimum [salary] this year. In future years, next year, it kicks up quite a bit," general manager John Lynch said Saturday. "And that kind of coincides with when our stuff's going to get tight. So, of course, [salary cap] plays a factor. "
Another thing to watch is how this could potentially impact the ongoing negotiations with star edge rusher Nick Bosa, who has yet to report with the regular-season opener looming on the horizon.
San Francisco 49ers
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With Bosa’s contract situation still unresolved, this amount of freed cap space could prove to be invaluable as the two sides look to get a deal done.