Sports Illustrated is 'Indifferent' About the 49ers' Offseason Moves

The experts seem split on the 49ers' offseason moves.

Some experts think the 49ers got worse with the loss of nine starting players. Some experts think the 49ers trimmed the fat on their roster and got better with the additions of Robert Saleh and Brant Boyer.

Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano falls somewhere in the middle. He didn't list the 49ers as winners or losers this offseason. Instead, he's "indifferent" about the moves they made.

"The 49ers might benefit from the many subtractions they made this offseason," writes Manzano. "San Francisco needed to evolve for several reasons, one of which was to become more savvy about the salary cap and Brock Purdy’s new massive contract. 

"Clearly, the 49ers’ approach to winning the Super Bowl wasn’t working. Players were aging, and the production wasn’t worth the contracts. Developing a new crop of stars could lead to a quick fix for a team that still has plenty of talent."  

Manzano is correct that the 49ers have not found the Super Bowl-winning formula yet. They tried spending lots of money on veterans the past few seasons and that strategy didn't work. Now they're asking Saleh and Kyle Shanahan, two highly-regarded coaches, to develop younger players and win with them.

The 49ers have the easiest schedule in the league this year. They need to win at least 10 games and make the playoffs. Anything less is a fireable offense. So for the sake of Shanahan and John Lynch, hopefully they did enough this offseason to keep their jobs next year.