A vacancy has officially opened up at right tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.
Five-year starter Mike McGlinchey is leaving the 49ers to sign with the Denver Broncos, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. It is a five-year deal worth $87.5 million with more than $50 million of it guaranteed. Quite the payday for the former first-round pick out of Notre Dame.
The 49ers were never going to give that to McGlinchey. He is not worth that at all, which is why the 49ers had no issues letting him hit the open market. Anytime a team is okay with a player testing free agency, it means that they are okay with the result of that player leaving. It was an underwhelming and relatively disappointing tenure with the 49ers for McGlinchey.
Being a premium top-10 pick in the draft, he just never lived up to his draft status. As a run blocker, McGlinchey is excellent. He can shift laterally quickly and be strong at the point of attack to withhold his block for a running lane. But when it came to pass protection, he was average. A top draft pick like himself has to be a great pass protector at the very least.
What made McGlinchey average in that department wasn't that he was poor on a consistent basis. In fact, he was fine for the most part. It was that he would have a horrendous rep on a crucial play. Whether it was a third down situation, or a scoring situation, McGlinchey would almost always falter on pivotal downs. For every 10 good pass protection reps he would have, he would undo it all with one terrible one on a crucial down. The 49ers are wise to move on. It's time.
Now that McGlinchey is gone, the 49ers have to fill the vacancy left by him. The draft is certainly going to be explored and perhaps a flier free agent.
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