One Surprise Cut the San Francisco 49ers Could Still Make This Offseason

The San Francisco 49ers are looking to return to the Super Bowl next year after blowing a lead and falling short against the Kansas City Chiefs in February. That means assembling the best and most efficient roster possible, and the team addressed a major need in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by selecting wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

The Arizona State product helps fill a void left behind by Emmanuel Sanders, who had 502 receiving yards in 2019. Right behind him on the leaderboard was Kendrick Bourne. The undrafted pass-catcher had 358 yards and is currently the highest-paid receiver on the roster. However, he does have a dead cap value of $0, and he stands out as a player who could still be cut before the season begins.

Bourne has not been a star in his three professional seasons, but he has been reliable, averaging 12.5 yards per reception since 2017. The reason he is a surprise cut candidate is because of the money he is earning. The 49ers would have their third, or even fourth, receiver earning more than anyone else at the position.

Breida, of course, is already gone, which doesn't bode terribly well for Bourne.

He is set to earn $3.26 million with an associated dead cap of $0. Deebo Samuel is next on the list at only $1.75 million, and he finished with exactly 300 more yards than Bourne last season.

In addition to Aiyuk, the 49ers also drafted Tennessee receiver Jauan Jennings. That gives the team 12 receivers on the roster as it stands right now. With just over $10 million in cap space, John Lynch may want to free up some money and make sure the top producers at each position are the ones being paid the most. That is not true at receiver, with Bourne with his career total of 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns.

We're not saying. We're just saying.