The 49ers remained surprisingly successful throughout the season in spite of never-ending injury problems at the quarterback position. The team has several key questions to answer as free agency approaches, however, including an experienced mainstay on their offensive line. 
[RELATED: Trent Williams Considering Retirement?]
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey is scheduled to hit the open market for the first time in his career in March. The ninth overall pick in 2018, McGlinchey has been a full-time starter since his arrival. 2022 saw him play over 1,000 snaps for the third time in his five-year tenure with San Francisco, and deliver a performance roughly on par with his previous campaigns; the Notre Dame alum earned a PFF grade of 70.3, generally excelling in run blocking while allowing six sacks.
McGlinchey earned $10.88MM this past season while playing on the fifth-year option, but he is in line for a notable raise on a multi-year deal. Given his age (28), position and consistency, he could garner a sizeable market if he heads elsewhere. If he had his way, however, he would remain in the Bay Area.
“It’s hard to ever want to leave this place,” McGlinchey said of his impending free agency decision, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “I’ve seen people do it and be kind of heartbroken about it later on. You got to do a lot of thinking and see how the chips fall.”
San Francisco, meanwhile, “would prefer” to keep him in the fold for the foreseeable future, writes ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. The 49ers saw guard Laken Tomlinson head to the Jets in free agency last offseason, and will no doubt look to keep as much of their offensive core intact as possible. With star defensive end Nick Bosa due for a new contract – one which could easily make him the league’s highest-paid defender – as well, though, finances will be a key sticking point in negotiations for all other pending FAs.
That point is not lost on McGlinchey, who added that money “will certainly have a lot to do with” his ultimate decision to stay or leave. San Francisco currently sits in the middle of the pack with respect to cap space, though plenty remains to be sorted out in the weeks to come. One decision the team will need to make will be a price point for McGlinchey, as they prepare to navigate what will be an interesting offseason.
NONONONONO AND NO!!!
With the poor line play in the league this guy will have to take a cut to play for the niners
Worst player on team and you are going to give him big money
no, he fcking sucks
Come to chicago bro.
Several 49ers fans think he’s garbage, but they also immediately discount what a quality run blocker he is…
With the money situation getting tighter and tighter, the 49ers are going to have to make some cost-cutting moves, and I think Big Mike ends up elsewhere honestly.
I think he’s a slightly above average RT, but I also know several teams need help at the RT position, and there will also be a few of those teams that will easily be able to outbid the 49ers.
I think they’ll likely come at him with a number near 13mil a year, and see if he takes a team friendly deal. If not, they’ll likely look for a veteran replacement and draft an OT prospect. They could also go with Moore as Mike’s replacement, but he hasn’t proven he can stay healthy…So, I’m not entirely sure where they’re going to go to replace him.
However, if Trent retires, they may offer Mike more money to stay then, but idk, I really cannot see Trent Williams retiring just yet.
It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how the 49ers are able to reload their roster after having quite a few key veterans hitting free agency.
Their depth is likely going to take a hit if the 49ers can’t find a few value deals in free agency. They have done very well though at identifying key veterans in free agency, and they’ve been able to fill out their holes with some sneaky value deals. Last season they were able to retain alot of their key guys on 1 yr deals, but a few of their free agents like Jimmy Ward and Tashon Gipson are coming off career years, so they won’t be able to retain those two on such cheap deals like they were able to before.
Lynch and Kyle, with the help of their scouts and position coaches, have also been extremely productive hitting on their mid to later round draft picks to help the team acquire some cheap depth as well. Not to mention, each year they’ve been able to find and identify at least one or two hidden gems after the draft, and they’ve been able to get some quality play out of some undrafted free agents.
George Kittle, Emmanuel Moseley, Hufanga, D.Lenoir, K.Givens, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, S.Burford, J.Moore, J.Jennings, B.Purdy, D.Greenlaw, A.Al-Shaiir, D.Brunskill, D.Flannigan-Fowles, S.Womack, N. Zakelj, Jason Poe, Q.Knight, Alex Barrett, K.Davis, C.McKivitz, M.Wishnowsky, etc. These players were all selected in the 4th Round or later, with NINE of them coming in as undrafted free agents..
If they are going to continue having such a stacked and talented roster, they are going to have to continue on with their recent trend of finding contributing players in the later rounds of the draft. It is going to be even more important this season, since their Lance and CMC trades cost them their first and second round picks.
If anyone can build and maintain a top 5 team, Lynch, Kyle, and Paraag have proven their more than capable. This is going to be a tough offseason for the 49ers, and one with alot of difficult decisions, but I’m looking forward to seeing how everything turns out.
why??? mcglinchey sucks
Not sure the hate. He’s among the better in the league looking at the metrics. Perfect fit for the 49ers and what they do. You have to try and keep him.
He run blocks with the best but he is killing our quarterbacks on pass plays. See NFC championship game.
Jeopardy answer: The fall of 3 out 4 SF quarterbacks this season.
Question: Who is Mike McGlinchey?