Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers walked into the 2025 offseason with one thing on their minds—get ready to pay Brock Purdy. His next deal? Yeah, it’s expected to land somewhere between $45 to $50 million a year. So what did the Niners do? They hit the reset button on the roster, making big moves and clearing cap space like they’re prepping for a shopping spree. All eyes are on locking in QB1 long-term.

To start things off, the Niners made a bold move by trading Deebo Samuel to the Commanders. This decision came with a hefty $31.55 million dead cap hit, reducing their cap space from about $50.2 million to $34 million. But here’s the strategy: by absorbing the entire cap hit now, they’re clearing the financial decks for the future, especially with Purdy’s forthcoming extension.

To top that off, the Niners restructured Trent Williams’ contract and agreed to pay him $82.66 million with $48 million guaranteed. Beyond Williams, the team also restructured Christian McCaffrey’s contract and freed up approximately $8.5 million in cap space. But if you’re thinking that the Niners were done with these moves to clear their salary cap space, think again.

In fact, Kyle Shanahan and Co. were interested in pursuing Davante Adams after the Jets released him. Let’s be real—the 49ers eyeing Adams in free agency is not an odd thing. But the interesting part? It’s how much they’re willing to spend on him. During his recent chat with The Athletic’s Michael Silver, Adams confirmed that the 49ers were looking to add him to their roster, considering the six-time Pro Bowler is coming off his sixth 1,000-yard season.

But turns out, the Niners were looking for a discount deal while Adams was looking for a massive payday (the kind he signed with the Rams). “I was entertaining the Niners,” Adams told Silver, “but they were like, ‘We’re paying wholesale. We ain’t paying retail.’ I didn’t talk to them, but that’s what my agent told me — like five times, that quote. And I was like, ‘OK, well, I’m not a wholesale-type dude.” Translation?

The Niners were looking for a discount deal, like getting a star player for a cheap deal. But Adams wasn’t going to sign that. In fact, the veteran wideout believes that he’s still playing at an elite level. “I haven’t lost any speed—which, you know, I didn’t come into the league as a burner, so people weren’t looking to see a 4.2 (40-yard dash) turn into 4.5,” Adams said.

“I was high 4.4s coming in, and I’m running the same speeds now. Whether it’s the GPS, or if I could line up and run a 40 right now, I’d probably run a faster 40 than I ran when I was 21 years old.” So yeah, if the man believes that at the age of 32, he can run like he used to run when he was just 21 years old, no wonder he wasn’t ready to sign a deal for peanuts.

But in the meantime, the 49ers are still stuck in their contract extension limbo. And we aren’t just talking about Brock Purdy.

Kyle Shanahan to tackle George Kittle contract extension amid QB drama

When players ball out and finish their contracts strong, what do they want? A nice extension, of course. But when the team keeps dodging those talks, what happens next? Well, the trade rumors start flying around like crazy. And that’s exactly what’s going on in San Francisco right now with Brock Purdy and George Kittle. Both of their contract situations are stuck in that awkward waiting game.

Speaking of Purdy… well, both the parties want the same thing but looks like they’re are too shy to put pen to the paper. Enter former NFLer Chris Canty, who suggested that the Steelers could trade TJ Watt (who’s also waiting for a contract extension) to acquire Purdy in trade. The interesting part? Well, it isn’t just limited to Purdy. In fact, the talk of the street is that Niners’ tight end, Kittle could be traded as well.

Nope, not a typo. As per the reports, Kittle isn’t happy with the Niners’ front office. The reason? Well, the guy wrapped up the final season of his five-year deal with the team, and he’s nowhere close to signing a contract extension. After the 2024 season, he stated that he wants to sign a deal and would like to end his career in Santa Clara. Cut to the present, and as per the latest speculations, Kittle is “far apart” on contract talks with the team.

That said, the TE reportedly missed out on phase one of the 49ers OTAs. And that meant only one thing: the guy’s not happy with the front office. If reports are true, Kittle could request a trade. And the rumors are linking him to just one team—the Tennessee Titans. The reason? Well, Kittle already lives in Nashville, and the Titans would like to use a veteran tight end on their roster. All in all, the contract extension drama in San Francisco is far from over.

Whether Purdy and Kittle would be traded? We’ve no clue. The odds are favoring Kittle to the Titans. As for Purdy… let’s just say the QB seems like a luxury Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers can’t afford. Or they just don’t want to afford. Plain and simple.