San Francisco have been in four of the last six NFC championships. But every NFL team must rebuild at some point for a future that could take a while to arrive

As unpalatable as it may be to fans, there are times when NFL teams must rejig their roster to cast off contracts which could get in the way of future success. The San Francisco 49ers, who have appeared in four of the last six NFC Championship games, and two of the last six Super Bowls, appear to be doing exactly that.

While most other teams were trying to make themselves better in free agency when the league year began last week, the 49ers were having quite the fire sale. They had already traded receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a future fifth-round pick, but that was just the beginning.