The San Francisco 49ers Purge According To Pro Football Focus

Jan 15, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (L), head coach Jim Tomsula (C), and owner Jed York (R) pose for a photo in the locker room after a press conference for the introduction of Tomsula as the head coach at Levi

Can anybody remember an off-season in recent NFL memory where a team has taken this many hits to their roster? That is the question following the San Francisco 49ers as yet another prominent player chose to hang up the cleats and retire.

There are several ways to try to put into words what these losses mean to the franchise, so how about using a favorite tool among experts in Pro Football Focus? Below will be a list of every player who has departed from the team either via free agency, trade or retirement and what their 2014 overall rating was.

Offense

Michael Crabtree = -7.3 rating (free agency)
Steve Johnson = +5.5 rating (free agency)
Mike Iupati = +10.7 rating (free agency)
Frank Gore = -0.8 rating (free agency)
Anthony Davis = -2.1 rating (retirement)
Jonathan Martin = -11.9 rating (free agency)

In addition to losing five starters on their offense, the 49ers have also lost two of the top six PFF rated players on the unit in Iupati and Johnson. Also keep in mind Anthony Davis had a +5.8 in 2013 and Frank Gore had a +9.8. So those are two other quality players out as well.

Defense

Justin Smith = +15.6 rating (retirement)
Ray McDonald = +15.2 rating (free agency)
Chris Borland = +20.8 rating (retirement)
Patrick Willis = +2.0 rating (retirement)
Perrish Cox = +1.2 rating (free agency)
Chris Culliver = +8.0 rating (free agency

There is little doubt the biggest hurt for San Francisco will be felt on their defense. Five starters and a key reserve are all gone. If that weren’t bad enough, five of them were ranked in the top 10 among PFF ratings. One can safely say this could be the most eye-popping loss of core talent in one off-season seen in years.

Special Teams

Andy Lee = +18.4 rating (traded)

The latest kick in the stomach came when the team trade 32-year old punter Andy Lee. A three-time Pro Bowler in his career, Lee came out of last season with by far the highest special teams rating at +18.4 and was the third-highest on the team overall. He averaged 46.8 yards per punt in 2014, placing him sixth in the NFL and had 28 downed inside the 20, good for ninth.

Put in a overall perspective, the San Francisco 49ers had 25 players who posted a “green” or positive rating in Pro Football Focus last season. Now nine of those players, or 36% are gone.

Can they possibly recover from that? Nothing is impossible, but it’s also impossible to tune out the growing chorus of doubts as well.

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