2014 depth chart:
Ahmed Brooks, Aaron Lynch
Aldon Smith, Dan Skuta, Corey Lemonier
Signed through 2015
Ahmed Brooks, Aldon Smith, Aaron Lynch, Corey Lemonier
Ahmad Brooks
13 games (13 starts), 25 tackles, 5 assists, 6 sacks, 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Brooks shared the 2014 team record for the number of sacks in the season, however his sack amount was its lowest since 2010.
But his season will be mostly remembered for several off the field incidents which caused him to be benched for three games for a variety of reasons. These included talking adversely about how he was being utilised and missing a team meeting.
He is due to earn a $6million base salary that can swell to $9.5million with bonuses in 2015, so with the emergence of Aaron Lynch, it is looking increasingly likely that the 49ers will try to trade Brooks during the offseason. This is even more likely when considering how much the 49ers will have to reduce costs in order to move back under the salary cap limit. Even a release is likely, if no trade partner can be found.
(Daily Republic)
Aldon Smith
7 games (6 starts), 10 tackles, 5 assists, 2 sacks
After missing the first nine games of the 2014 season due to suspension, Aldon Smith came back and appeared in the remaining seven regular season games.
His underwhelming statistics are no doubt due to the huge amount of practice time and playing time that he lost through his suspension: He was just too far behind the team to catch up properly following his ban.
Smiths off the field issues are very well known and documented, however he has shown a rare talent to get to the passer when playing regularly, which is why the team have stuck by him throughout his trials and tribulations.
2015 is the final year of his rookie contract and he is set to make over $9million. With the salary cap issues that the team has, alongside the myriad of problems that Smith has experienced away from football, I would expect that the front office will be trying hard to get Smith to restructure his salary. Perhaps a two or three year extension with a modest salary may be in the cards, allowing the team to spread his 2015 wages across more years, whilst at the same time retaining a naturally talented player who will hopefully find his form again next year.
But there has even been speculation that the team will let Smith go, however I believe that they will look into restructuring his contract first. Elite pass rushers are hard to find, even if they have plenty of baggage.
Aaron Lynch
16 games (3 starts), 17 tackles, 6 assists, 6 sacks, 4 passes defended.
Alongside Chris Borland, Aaron Lynch was the pick of the 49ers 2014 draft. Chosen in the fifth round, not much was expected of him during 2014 but with issues surrounding Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith, Lynch was able to see more playing time. He even started in place of Brooks when the latter was going through his benching issues.
Sharing the sack lead with Brooks, but from far fewer snaps, Lynch has effectively pushed Ahmad out of a job. I expect to see Lynch starting next season and it will be interesting to see how he gets on when he starts for a full 16 games.
Dan Skuta
14 games (10 starts), 25 tackles, 8 assists, 5 sacks, 1 pass defended, 3 forced fumbles.
Another example of the excellent coaching and scouting done by the 49ers, Skuta came into the team during 2013 after being a minor player on the Bengals roster, but in two seasons has flourished to be a very effective edge rusher and linebacker. Taking the place of Aldon Smith was never going to be easy, but Skuta accumulated some impressive statistics during 2014 including leading the team with three forced fumbles.
An unrestricted free agent, Skuta will be looking for a starting gig in the league and his 49er career has shown that he is worthy of such a job.
Corey Lemonier
16 games (0 starts), 7 tackles, 3 assists.
Lemonier is somewhat of a mystery. Touted as one of the next big things out of college, much was expected of him once he had been drafted out of Auburn. However, he is yet to produce anything of quality for the 49ers.
I would hazard a guess and say that he has struggled for the same reason that Tank Carradine has also been slow to catch on, which is that they just have not learned the nuances of working in the NFL to a point where the coaching staff are happy to put them into games. In other words, they haven’t earned their way onto the field yet. Former defensive line coach and now head coach, Jim Tomsula, had a noticeable input into the OLB training as they often line up along the line, so if he has been unimpressed by Lemonier as he had been with Tank, then this could explain why we haven’t seen any kind of output from the ex Auburn Tiger.
Lemonier is going to have to work a lot to improve his chances of getting on the field in 2015 in anything other than Special Teams or garbage-time duties.
Looking ahead
In the pass dominated world of the 21st Century NFL, effective edge rushers and every-down outside linebackers are a premium. The 49ers have a couple of players who have been influential in their recent success, but both are not without their problems.
Ahmad Brooks has almost certainly played his last game for the team, whether by being traded or if need be, cut. Aldon Smith is in the upper echelon of pass-rushers and is a player that the team have not really had since recently voted Hall of Famer, Charles Haley.
Although not as volatile towards his team or coaching staff as Haley once was, Aldon Smith still presents the front office with a headache much like his predecessor. Do they dare release or trade him not only to help alleviate their salary cap woes, but also to wash their hands of the constant issues that he brings? Or do they stick with their rare commodity, hope that he has learned his lessons and will return to his peak form and restructure/extend his contract?
If both Brooks and Smith go, then the team are down to just Lynch (good, but still very young) and Lemonier (yet to show anything). If that happens, then Dan Skuta may well find his way back onto the team.
If Brooks is the only one to go, then I would expect the 49ers not to be in play for Skuta, but instead try to pick up another low risk/high reward vet as well as drafting an OLB in the upper half of the 2015 draft.
Whatever the outcome, the OLB position is definitely one of concern for 49ers fans.
Photograph reference
Daily Republich, 'Brooks and Smith', accessed online 20 February 2015 <http://dailyrepublic.s3.amazonaws.com/files/2014/07/25-Niners-Color-34p-1024x676.jpg >
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