Source: 49ers inform fullback Kyle Juszczyk of release
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As Kyle Juszczyk walked to the bus to leave State Farm Stadium after the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 season ended, he was uncertain about what was next.
Juszczyk’s suspicion that he might have played his final game as a Niner was correct. The 49ers informed Juszczyk on Monday night that he is being released, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Juszczyk, 33, told ESPN after that season-ending loss to the Arizona Cardinals that he plans to play in 2025 no matter the team, a sentiment also shared by Schefter’s source.
“I know I’m not done,” Juszczyk said Jan. 5. “I’m definitely not done playing. I’ve seen zero regression. I think especially, I mean, you can turn on the last two games and please show me where I’ve regressed, so I have no plans of stopping.”
Juszczyk and the 49ers nearly parted ways last offseason before Juszczyk agreed to a pay cut to stay with the team. It seemed a similar agreement would be needed this offseason for Juszczyk to play a ninth season in San Francisco, though that did not materialize.
Juszczyk was due to count $6,496,750 on the 2025 salary cap and has void years on the deal through 2028 that would cost an additional $1,674,00 against the cap in 2026 after his contract was set to expire. Juszczyk’s release means the Niners will save $2,926,000 against this year’s cap with an immediate dead money charge of $3,570,750.
Juszczyk was one of the first free agents 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch signed after taking over in 2017.
Juszczyk was named to the Pro Bowl after each of his eight seasons in San Francisco and was first-team All-Pro in 2023 and second-team All-Pro in 2024. He ran for 212 yards and 5 touchdowns on 60 carries and added 184 catches for 1,895 receiving yards and 13 scores in his time with the team.
At the NFL scouting combine in February, Lynch hinted that Juszczyk might be moving on, and that seemed more realistic when the team agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $20.3 million with tight end Luke Farrell on Monday. Farrell could handle some of Juszczyk’s former blocking duties.
“We’re trying to make everything work and [with] some tighter constraints than we’ve had in the past,” Lynch said then.
Juszczyk will also come up just short of landing a spot on the Niners’ 10-year club, which honors players who have played at least 10 consecutive seasons in San Francisco. The team hasn’t added any new members since Joe Staley in 2017.
Perhaps more bothersome for Juszczyk is that he came close to winning the Super Bowl on multiple occasions with the 49ers — including two losses in the big game.
“I want to win a ring,” Juszczyk said in January. “I want to win a ring here. But again, if I’m forced to do it somewhere else, I’ve still got so much football left in me. I still love the game so much. I’m still playing at a high level and I know there’s teams out there that can use me.”
Adam Schefter details that the Los Angeles Rams plan to release WR Cooper Kupp after the start of the new league year unless a trade materializes. (0:41)
The Los Angeles Rams plan to release wide receiver Cooper Kupp when the NFL’s new season starts March 12 if they can’t find a trade partner, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
The news came a day after the team announced they agreed to sign six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams on a two-year deal. Adams arrives as the Rams now prepare to move on from Kupp.
The news also comes after Kupp said on social media in early February that the Rams were attempting to trade him after eight seasons with the club, and that he didn’t like the decision.
“I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships,” Kupp, who was named Super Bowl 56 MVP, said at the time.
After a record-breaking 2021 season during which he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Kupp signed a three-year contract extension worth $80.1 million. He just completed the first season of that contract, which is scheduled to count $29.8 million against the cap next season and $27.3 million in 2026.
Kupp’s guaranteed salary next season is only $5 million, and he has no guaranteed money on the final year of the contract in 2026. If the Rams trade Kupp in a deal designated post-June 1, they will save $20 million toward their 2025 salary cap.
If the Rams cut Kupp this offseason, they will save $15 million in cash and $7.52 million against the salary cap. If the Rams release him without a post-June 1 designation, they will absorb $22.2 million in dead money due to the remaining prorated portions of his signing bonus and $5 million of his roster bonus.
Kupp has been a prolific receiver whenever healthy for the Rams, who drafted him in the third round out of Eastern Washington a few months after hiring Sean McVay as their head coach.
Kupp has been a centerpiece of McVay’s offensive game plans throughout his career, catching 634 passes for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.
ESPN’s Sarah Barshop and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Why 49ers reportedly decided to release key run-blocker Juszczyk
The 49ers reportedly have made the decision to release Kyle Juszczyk after the fullback spent eight seasons in the Bay Area.
Prior to the 2024 NFL season, San Francisco asked Juszczyk to take a pay cut, and the 12-year veteran obliged under the condition that he would remain the league’s highest-paid fullback. With the adjusted agreement, the nine-time Pro Bowl selection was set to make $4.1 million in 2025, which likely was an inhibitor to keep him in the building.
Juszczyk was the longest-tenured 49ers player of the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era, and a key signing of their first NFL free agency class in 2017.
Over eight seasons with the 49ers, Juszczyk was a key part of the offense’s outside zone run scheme as a blocker and occasionally as a ball carrier. The fullback recorded 60 carries for 212 yards, five touchdowns and caught 184 receptions for 1,895 yards and an additional 13 touchdowns through the air.
The writing might have been on the wall for Juszczyk’s release when news broke earlier in the day that San Francisco reportedly agreed to a three-year, $20.25 million contract with tight end Luke Farrell.
While Farrell has not lined up in the backfield frequently, he is known as a blocking tight end and likely will be figured into the offense in Juszczyk’s absence.
At the end of the 2024 season, Juszczyk shared that his production has not dropped and he feels like he still has a lot of football left to play, hinting that retirement is not an option.
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Not all 32 teams employ a fullback, though, slightly restricting Juszczyk’s market. But the longtime member of the 49ers has been a valuable asset, rarely missing a game. The versatile veteran also is willing to do whatever is required of him, from pass protection and carrying the ball to returning kickoffs, making him an attractive option to any team.
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