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After less than three years, the 49ers parted ways with Dante Pettis. He was waived on Tuesday and quickly claimed by the New York Giants, with ESPN’s Field Yates reporting that both the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns put in claims on him.
General manager John Lynch told Greg Papa that he recognized things were not working out with Pettis and tried, unsuccessfully, to trade him. He informed Pettis that he was looking to move him and that he still had talent to succeed in the NFL.
“For whatever reasons, it hasn’t worked here,” Lynch said. “‘I believe you have a skillset that can thrive in this league, but I think you need a new, fresh start.’ We had discussions with numerous teams… A lot of interest, but nothing ever materialized.”
Lynch said Pettis agreed with that assessment and a new start was best for him.
He also provided injury updates on both Richard Sherman and Dee Ford. Ford sounds like he might be done for the year, which could mean the end of his tenure with the 49ers.
“Hopeful with Sherm, we are,” Lynch said. “Dee, it’s still very much up in the air. When you’re dealing with the back, the center of your body, there are a lot of things that are unpredictable. Dee’s working hard, trying to find his way back. Whether that happens or not, hopeful? I don’t know. We’re still leaving that door open and working with him, doing everything possible to try and get him back out. Dee’s working hard on it. It hasn’t been successful thus far, but hopefully that changes in the near future.”
Cutting Ford this offseason would mean a dead cap hit of $14,354,988, because the 49ers restructured his deal, guaranteeing him additional money. Cutting him this offseason would save $6,430,008 in cap space.
The issue there is that Ford’s contract, according to OverTheCap, has a partial injury guarantee on his $15.15 million salary. The team may hope he can get healthy so that cutting him becomes viable. If he’s on the roster on April 1, he’ll remain on the team, as $11.6 million of his 2021 salary will guarantee at that point.
Listen to the interview below, starting at roughly the 5:30 mark.
