Earlier this month, Jason LaCanfora reported that the 2015 NFL salary cap is expected to be between $138.1 million and $140 million per team. The NFL Players Association believes that is a good indication it will be higher, given what we saw this year. Either way, it is worth breaking down the San Francisco 49ers current cap situation as they prepare for the 2015 season.

The 49ers currently have 53 players signed for 2015, accounting for $140,294,943 in salary cap room. They also have $5,935,901 in dead money for 2015. This puts the 49ers over the 2015 salary cap by $5,360,844. However, the team also has $6,370,719 in estimated salary cap room still available for the 2014 season. They are allowed to roll over any unused cap space in a given year, which would put the 49ers at $2,195,902 under the 2015 salary cap.

First lets take a look at the 53 players under contract, and their salary cap numbers for 2015.

QB Colin Kaepernick - $15,265,753

OLB Aldon Smith - $9.754 million

OLB Ahmad Brooks - $9,648,750

ILB Patrick Willis - $8.268 million

ILB NaVorro Bowman - $7.654 million

TE Vernon Davis - $6,696,920

WR Anquan Boldin - $6.909 million

DE Justin Smith - $6,436,668

LT Joe Staley - $6.4 million

RT Anthony Davis - $6,154,170

WR Stevie Johnson - $6.025 million

SS Antoine Bethea - $4.75 million

PK Phil Dawson - $4.134 million

RG Alex Boone - $3.79 million

CB Tramaine Brock - $2.83 million

P Andy Lee - $2.55 million

NT Glenn Dorsey - $2,541,666

FS Eric Reid - $2,312,933

C Daniel Kilgore - $1,937,500

FS Craig Dahl - $1,933,334

FB Bruce Miller - $1,746,500

SS Jimmie Ward - $1,616,484

NT Ian Williams - $1,583,334

DE Tank Carradine - $1,349,367

OT Jonathan Martin - $1,042,400

TE Vance McDonald - $981,594

RB Carlos Hyde - $836,745

RB Kendall Hunter - $820,000

OG Joe Looney - $766,301

OLB Corey Lemonier - $720,880

C Marcus Martin - $694,359

WR Quinton Patton - $682,875

NT Quinton Dial - $630,413

WR Bruce Ellington - $628,607

ILB Nick Moody - $611,918

CB Dontae Johnson - $610,136

TE Derek Carrier - $585,000

CB Leon McFadden - $585,000

OG Brandon Thomas - $581,504

OLB Aaron Lynch - $559,500

SS James McCray - $512,000

C Dillon Farrell - $511,666

TE Asante Cleveland - $510,000

OG Andrew Tiller - $510,000

CB Marcus Cromartie - $510,000

CB Keith Reaser - $476,200

CB Kenneth Acker - $465,150

DE Kaleb Ramsey - $447,050

FB Trey Millard - $446,787

OG Fou Fonoti - $436,666

NT Mike Purcell - $435,000

WR Chuck Jacobs - $435,000

The following 49ers are scheduled to be free agents on March 10, 2015.

QB Blaine Gabbert

QB Josh Johnson

RB Frank Gore

RB Alfonso Smith

RB Philip Tanner

WR Michael Crabtree

WR Brandon Lloyd

WR Kassim Osgood

TE Garrett Celek (RFA)

OG Mike Iupati

DE Tony Jerod-Eddie (EFA)

OLB Dan Skuta

ILB Michael Wilhoite (RFA)

ILB Desmond Bishop

CB Chris Culliver

CB Perrish Cox

CB Chris Cook

SS Bubba Ventrone

LS Kyle Nelson (RFA)

The 49ers will retain some of their free agents, but guys like Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati could prove too difficult to re-sign. That will depend in part on the market for their services, but given the 49ers salary cap situation, it would not be surprising to see the 49ers move on from them.

The 49ers cap situation is not exactly cap hell, but there will be some work to do this offseason to clear out some space. Here are a few ways to create some room.

1. Ahmad Brooks is scheduled to have a $6 million base salary, plus $1.2 million in roster bonuses, and a $100,000 workout bonus. If the 49ers release Brooks they would save $4,102,500 against the salary cap with a pre-June 1 cut.

2. Vernon Davis is scheduled to make a $4.35 million base salary, along with a $350,000 roster bonus, and a $200,000 workout bonus. If the 49ers release him, they would save $4.9 million in salary cap room.

3. Colin Kaepernick has a scheduled $10.4 million base salary, and the 49ers could lower it down to the minimum of $745,000, thus creating a $9.655 million signing bonus. A signing bonus prorates out over five years at $1.931 million a year. This would give the 49ers a maximum savings of $7.724 million, but obviously removes some of the flexibility they currently have if they decide to move on from him at some point in the future.

4. Aldon Smith is scheduled to make $9.754 million under his fifth year option. It becomes guaranteed after the start of the 2015 league year. The 49ers could sign him to a long term contract extension, with a sizable signing bonus and low first year base salary. Given his off the field issues, the team could choose to wait on that until after a full offseason to see if he can stay out of trouble.

5. Patrick Willis is scheduled to have a $7.065 million base salary, and if they were to extend him a through the 2019 season, they could save as much as $4.956 million in salary cap room.

6. Craig Dahl is also a possible cap casualty, which would save the team $1.7 million in salary cap room if cut.

7. The last group are players who could retire:

If Anquan Boldin retired, the 49ers would save $3.273 million in salary cap room.

If Justin Smith retired, the 49ers would save $4.25 million in salary cap room.

If Phil Dawson retired, the 49ers would save $3.143 million in salary cap room.

As always you can follow me on twitter @Jay_AB81.