The San Francisco 49ers are expected to be aggressive in free agency in the offseason in the hope of improving their title chances next season. The Niners are currently being linked to several upcoming free agents, including New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis.
Lewis is set to play for the Patriots in Super Bowl 52. The match against the Philadelphia Eagles could eventually be his last for the Patriots, as he is set to become a free agent in the offseason.
Dion Lewis to follow Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco?
The 49ers might have found their face of the franchise for the next several years in Jimmy Garoppolo.
San Francisco struck a deal with the Patriots earlier in the season to acquire Tom Brady’s backup. It turned out to be a good move for the Niners, as they won all four games with Garoppolo as starting quarterback.
Now that they have a quarterback to run the show, the 49ers need to surround Garoppolo with high-quality targets. And according to USA Today, the Niners will benefit a lot from signing Lewis in free agency.
Lewis could give San Francisco “a familiar security blanket” since the 27-year-old is very familiar with Garoppolo. The New York native has also silenced his critics this season. He tallied 896 receiving yards with six touchdowns in 16 regular-season games for the Patriots.
Niners should secure deal with Jimmy Garoppolo first
But before the 49ers consider arranging a Lewis-Garoppolo reunion, they should address the contract situation of their new star quarterback. San Francisco has made it no secret that they want to sign Garoppolo to a new deal, but the two sides are still nowhere near to striking a contract extension.
Niners general manager John Lynch said in an interview with Murch & Mac on Wednesday that they are optimistic a deal will be finalized in the offseason. However, he also admitted that the contract negotiation is a “complicated” process.
Things could get more complicated for San Francisco once Kirk Cousins officially becomes available in free agency.
The Washington Redskins are now expected to part ways with Cousins after they traded for Alex Smith, who is expected to take the starting quarterback role next season.
It can be remembered that Cousins was heavily linked to the 49ers because of his familiarity with San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan. Grant Cohn of The Press Democrat recently suggested that the 49ers should sign Garoppolo to a franchise tag then trade him to make a room for Cousins in the roster.
