The 49ers just cut their best defensive tackle.
Javon Hargrave has been released with a post-June-1 designation. That means he will be a free agent when the new league year begins next week, but the 49ers will have to wait until after June 1 to get cap space for cutting him. On June 2, this move will create more than $2 million in cap space for the 49ers and more than $7 million in dead cap space.
In two seasons, the 49ers paid Hargrave roughly $40 million, and he played just 19 regular season games and recorded a mere 8 sacks in that period. He was a poor scheme fit who played his best in Philadelphia which featured a five-man front that created one-on-one matchups for him.
On the 49ers, Hargrave had to play in a Wide 9 defensive front which exposed to constant double-team blocks in the run game, and he’s not built to stop those. So he didn’t make much of an impact despite all the money the 49ers paid him.
Now the 49ers most likely will attempt to replace him with a younger, cheaper player from the upcoming NFL Draft. Hopefully, the 49ers learned from the Hargrave mistake. They can’t take just any defensive tackle and plug him into their Wide 9 front. They have to find a good fit, someone who can anchor effectively against double teams. That’s non-negotiable.
Otherwise, the 49ers run defense will continue to struggle and the 49ers pass rush won’t get many opportunities to impact the game.
