Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner played more than 1,000 snaps during his rookie campaign with the 49ers last year, a figure that new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh calls “criminal,” as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes. Not only will San Francisco be transitioning to a 4-3 front in 2017, but the club will look to run a rotation along the defensive line in an effort to keep individual players fresh. 2015 first-round pick Arik Armstead should see his snaps increase during the upcoming season, while the additions of No. 3 overall selection Solomon Thomas and free agent signees Earl Mitchell and Elvis Dumervil will also give the 49ers more options up front. San Francisco ranked 20th in adjusted sack rate and 29th in adjusted line yards.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Texans recently added a pair of depth veterans in offensive tackle Breno Giacomini and linebacker Sio Moore, but neither player will take up much cap room in 2017, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Giacomini, who’s expected to help fill in at right tackle for the injured Derek Newton, will receive a $750K signing bonus, a non-guaranteed base salary of $1MM, and can earn up to $1MM in gameday active roster bonuses. Moore, meanwhile, will come even cheaper, as he’s on a minimum salary benefit deal. As such, he can earn $775K while only counting for $615K on the Texans’ cap.
- While running back contracts are on the fiscal decline, deals for backs are increasingly reliant on incentive-based pay, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com explains. Recent pacts for veterans such as Latavius Murray, Marshawn Lynch, and Adrian Peterson all contain some sort of performance-based money, whether through bonuses or escalators. Those clauses can often artificially inflate the value of contracts — in the case of Peterson, for example, more than 50% of his deal’s maximum value comes in the form of incentives.
- While it’s a strategy that could be viewed as dangerous to the integrity of the game or a smart tactic in order to rebuild, “tanking” has afflicted the NFL in the past few seasons in the forms of the Browns and (certainly in 2017) the Jets. If the league wants to force teams to be competitive, it could institute an NBA-esque lottery system for the draft, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk opines. By giving each of the 20 non-playoff teams the same chance to earn the No. 1 overall pick, the NFL could dissuade clubs from failing to put forth a full effort.