What the heck are the 49ers doing in free agency?

Chip Kelly’s answer: They’re declining to hand out superstar contracts to players who have yet to achieve stardom.

Kelly said the front office had a “great plan” entering free agency, which began last week with the usual wave of lucrative deals. Despite having the NFL’s fourth-most salary-cap space ($53.7 million), the 49ers only signed journeyman quarterback Thad Lewis in the first week.

“Are we going to take this player and pay him more than anybody on our team?” Kelly said. “And is that player worth more than anybody on our current team? You also have to kind of look at that.

“Some of the money that was thrown around at the beginning, you got to be able to manage that. You’re going to pay some guy who’s never been to a Pro Bowl that’s going to make more than anybody on your roster. That’s a little bit difficult. There are a lot of things that get involved in some of these things.”

Much of the mega-cash that was thrown around was given to players such as guard Kelechi Osemele (Raiders), cornerback Janoris Jenkins (Giants) and defensive ends Olivier Vernon (Giants) and Malik Jackson (Jaguars). That quartet signed contracts that included $158.7 million in guaranteed money despite never reaching a Pro Bowl.

Still, the 49ers’ conservative free agency approach has, at this point, left them with an unchanged roster. And that roster is coming off a 5-11 season in which the 49ers scored the fewest points in the NFL and had the second-worst point differential.

During the first eight days of free agency, the 49ers’ roster tweaks essentially consist of trading guard Alex Boone for former Jaguars guard Zane Beadles. Kelly said the 49ers are still scanning the free-agent shelves, although he didn’t mention it’s hard to locate many potential impact players on the market.

“I think you just have to look at who fits and who’s the right fit for the organization,” Kelly said. “I don’t know if it’s let big money deals go or not go. It’s just what exactly are you looking for. Our guys do a great job of targeting what we want the San Francisco 49ers to be, and see how it works out from a contract standpoint.”

The 49ers haven’t found many fits so far and it increasingly appears they’ll rely on the draft to upgrade the roster. They do have 12 picks, but they have just three of the first 104 selections.

So what the heck are they doing?

It’s still a question worth asking.

Twitter: @Eric_Branch