The 49ers will be looking for a new starting right tackle after Mike McGlinchey left in free agency to sign a five-year deal worth up to $87.5 million with the Denver Broncos. While it looked all year like the market would price McGlinchey out of what San Francisco’s range, the team could’ve tried to keep their RT in the Bay Area. They were so sure of his pending exit though that they never pursued him, and made him aware after the 2021 campaign that they wouldn’t be in the mix and may look to even trade him.
McGlinchey shared his free agency experience with ESPN’s Nick Wagoner in great detail, but his insight on the 49ers’ mindset was particularly interesting. Via ESPN:
After the 2021 season, they both told me, “We may even look to move you at some point. We’re projecting into the future, and we think you’re going to get priced out. We want to get something in return.”
They wound up having a ton of success in 2022 though and never reached a point where dealing their starting right tackle made sense. Especially since he was playing so well in his return from a season-ending quad injury that limited him to only eight games in 2021.
He played so well that he proved the 49ers’ forecast after the 2021 season correct. They were priced out and made it clear at his exit interview following the NFC championship game loss to Philadelphia that they’d be unable to pursue re-signing him. Via ESPN:
I played well, and that’s when I was pretty sure I was going to have an opportunity to be a pretty major player in this year’s free agent market.
And then, what I expected became final during my exit interviews with John and Kyle after this season. They were clear that, barring something out of the ordinary, I wouldn’t be back. It was a money thing, and they told me point blank. “We’d love to have you back, but we can’t stretch ourselves too thin.”
Instead of paying McGlinchey on a long-term deal, they brought in defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to bolster the defensive front that spearheads that side of the ball. They also re-signed 2020 fifth-round pick OL Colton McKivitz to a two-year contract before he hit restricted free agency. He figures to be the frontrunner to replace McGlinchey.
Building a competitive NFL roster year in and year out with the constraints of a hard salary cap isn’t easy. Doing it with the amount of top-end players the 49ers have is even more difficult, and it sometimes forces them to make decisions like this one where they have to let a good player leave.
