The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly set to land one of the best free agent receivers on the market in Pierre Garcon.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports the two sides are expected to finalize a deal that will pay Garcon $16 million in 2017 in what will surely be a heavily front-loaded contract.
When Pierre Garcon finalizes deal with 49ers, as expected, league sources believe he will make $16 million in first year.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 8, 2017
The 49ers have roughly $100 million in cap space, so it’s not surprising they are willing to make Garcon such a rich offer up front.
It’s also not surprising that the franchise is going so hard after Garcon, who had his best season as a pro playing under then-Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2013. That season, he caught a league-leading 113 passes for 1,346 yards and five touchdowns.
Pairing Garcon with Jeremy Kerley, recently re-signed, gives the 49ers a nice 1-2 punch at receiver. Though we’d be shocked if the franchise didn’t also draft a young receiver or two to develop for the future.
At this point, the biggest question is, who’s going to be throwing passes their way?
Kirk Cousins is said to be “more likely than not” headed to San Francisco in a trade from Washington, and he’d be immediately in a comfort zone with Shanahan and Garcon. However, the 49ers are also linked to veteran Brian Hoyer, who could be a nice bridge at the fraction of the cost if the 49ers are looking to the 2018 NFL Draft for their quarterback of the future.