Howell is an UFA in 2026 so it would not cost anything. For those who want to cut Dalton, that would be a 5.8M cap hit. They guaranteed 5.9M of Dalton's salary because they thought he was a good mentor for Bryce so the plan is obviously to keep them both in '26, which really means they plan to pick up the fifth year option in May. Adding a Sam Howell or third round draft pick in '26 makes sense even though it limits roster spots. Dalton is Bryce's security blanket.
There are several options for BY:
1. Cut him now and incur a 12M cap hit=no.
2. Keep him for 2026 and risk (.0001%) him balling out and leaving in FA=no.
3. Wait until April 23 for the draft to see if we get a qb=yes.
4. Decide before May 1 whether to exercise the fifth year, which would cost us 26M in '07=yes.
I really like Purdue but Mac Jones has shown it is more of the coach/system than the qb and Purdy makes more than Herbert, Jackson, Hurts, Stafford, etc.
49ers always seem to make questionable decisions and they never really seem to pay the price. Lance, Purdy, Aiyuk all seem like wastes of draft capital and cap space.