San Francisco 49ers RB Matt Breida Signs Contract, What Now?

The San Francisco 49ers entered this offseason with multiple core players set to hit the restricted free-agent market.

The latest has now agreed to his tender. Former undrafted free agent running back Matt Breida has inked his $3.26 million contract for next season after San Francisco placed a second-round tender on the youngster.

Despite Thursday’s announcement, it’s not a foregone conclusion Breida will be on the 49ers next season. His contract is non-guaranteed for the 2020 campaign. There’s also been speculation that San Francisco might look to trade the electric young back during next week’s NFL Draft.

There’s certainly a lot to look at here. San Francisco remains stacked at running back after it retained injury-plagued veteran Jerick McKinnon on a veteran-minimum deal. Raheem Mostert seems to be the lead back. Meanwhile, Tevin Coleman’s future in Northern California remains up in the air after a pretty solid first season with the 49ers.

From a pure salary cap standpoint, San Francisco continues to invest heavily at running back. In addition to Brieda counting roughly $3.3 million against the cap in 2020, Coleman’s hit comes in at $4.87 million next season. After signing a three-year, $8.78 million contract last March, Mostert’s cap hit for the 2020 campaign comes in at a modest $3.16 million.

Given that the 49ers are a mere $12.2 million under the cap, it’s reasonable to believe only Mostert is guaranteed a roster spot next season. That’s shocking given he entered the summer of 2019 as San Francisco’s fourth-string back.

What does this all mean? Coleman is likely on his way out of town, either via a trade or release. Re-signing Breida does not guarantee he will return in 2020. It seems to be between those two as it relates to being Mostert’s primary backup next season. Mostert himself is coming off a record-breaking performance during San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl last season. He’s locked into leading the backfield in touches.

The interesting dynamic here is that San Francisco can get out from either Breida’s both Coleman’s contract without a dead cap hit next season. None of Coleman’s $4.87 figure is guaranteed.

At this point, it’s going to be all about juggling effectiveness on the field with total cap hit and potential compensation in a trade.

Not a single team around the NFL was going to exhaust a second-round pick to sign Breida as a restricted free agent. San Francisco knew this full well. That’s why it placed such a high tender on the impressive back.

With that said, Breida’s usage took a major hit late last season and into the playoffs due to fumble issues. San Francisco’s depth chart was Mostert and Coleman at that point. Heck, former undrafted free agent Jeff Wilson was surprisingly active for the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

This isn’t to say Breida lacks value on the trade market. He’s one of the fastest players in the NFL and has shown himself to be a dynamic runner during his three-year NFL career. The 25-year-old former Georgia Southern back is averaging north of 800 total yards at a clip of 5.5 yards per touch throughout his young career.

San Francisco could easily get a fifth-round pick or more for Breida during next week’s NFL Draft. Weighing the need to add more draft picks to a lackluster war chest against how much they value Brieda, the 49ers have a decision to make here. They could look to move him while keeping Mostert and Coleman as their top backs.

Then again, the possibilities are endless here. San Francisco would save nearly $5 million against the cap by releasing Coleman. It could decide to move on from both of these running backs while relying on McKinnon and Wilson as Mostert’s top backups. This possibility would likely include the 49ers selecting a running back at some point in the 2020 NFL Draft.

As it is, San Francisco will not head into the 2020 season paying its top-three running backs a combined $11-plus million against the cap. It’s one of the reasons I envision trades being the name of the game for the defending NFC champs during the draft.

Stay tuned!