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.
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 $10.88M 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.
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