The San Francisco 49ers’ roster has been ravaged so far in free agency.
Some of the biggest losses include safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, cornerback Charvarius Ward, offensive tackle Jaylon Moore, and the biggest contract of them all, guard Aaron Banks.
Banks saw his star rise throughout his four-year 49ers career, and the Green Bay Packers made it clear they think he’s going to continue his fantastic play. Green Bay gave Banks a four-year, $77 million contract, which would have been tough for San Francisco to match.
Nevertheless, the 49ers will need to figure out how to fill in Banks’ vacant left guard spot. One NFL writer believes they will look to the lowly Chicago Bears for the answer.
On Tuesday, SportsGrid’s Grant White predicted that the 49ers would sign Bears guard Teven Jenkins, who has struggled with injuries at times but looked like one of the league’s better guards when healthy.
The primary concern surrounding Teven Jenkins is his durability,” White wrote. “Should he prove capable of maintaining his health, he’d undoubtedly be in line for a significant pay bump… Predicted Landing Spot: San Francisco 49ers.”
Jenkins, 27, has been limited to 45 games throughout his NFL career. But in 2024, he managed to start 14 of the Bears’ 17 games–not a perfect attendance record, but still an upward trend in his availability.
Spotrac currently projects Jenkins for a three-year, $31 million contract, which would certainly save a lot of money compared to what they would have had to shell out to keep Banks in house.
If Jenkins can continue to improve on his durability and excel for what may well be the best offense he’s ever played for, that hypothetical contract would prove extremely worthwhile.
