Perception is everything
In free agency, it seems to be that name recognition matters more than anything. It’s something we have seen come up a great deal in recent years. More attention has been paid to veterans on the downside of their careers signing contracts than up-and-comers inking their first non-rookie contracts.
While the media itself tends to go away from this narrative, fans are stuck in the past. They have their narrative and they’re going to stick with it. One particular signing comes to mind first.
Even with Kyle Shanahan in the mix as their head coach, the 49ers are not expected to compete for a playoff spot in the near future. Here’s a two-win team from a season ago, one that has major holes on both sides of the ball. While San Francisco looks to improve its roster over the short term, the idea is to create sustained success over the long term.
It’s in this that the team signed veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer to a two-year, $12 million contract. Hoyer isn’t the long-term solution here. Rather, he’s a stopgap option until the 49ers find a franchise quarterback, potentially Kirk Cousins.
Despite Hoyer’s previous success, this was met with widespread criticism from fans in Northern California. That’s solely based on name recognition itself, as evidenced by this stunning statistical comparison.
Hoyer, past 14 starts: 62.9 comp %, 4,051 yards, 25 TD, 7 INT, 93.7 rating
Eli Manning in 2016: 63.0 comp, 4,027 yds, 26/16, 86.0 rating.
— Vincent Frank (@VincentFrankNFL) March 10, 2017
Now, stats themselves can be just as false as perception. No one is going to seriously indicate Hoyer has been as successful as Eli Manning in his career. That’s not the point. He was the best option on the free-agent market for what the 49ers decided they needed.
The same can pretty much be said about other signings that weren’t met with much fanfare. Look at the Indianapolis Colts adding both Jabaal Sheard and John Simon to help out with their pass rush. Neither got a bunch of play, but they were two big signings for first-year general manager Chris Ballard.
Team building is about more than star power. Some of those squads who aced free agency — on Friday in particular — did what they needed to without making a big splash. That’s the root of a good front office. If nothing else, those two new regimes in San Francisco and Indy proved this to a T.