The San Francisco 49ers have made some quality moves to their offensive line in free agency so far, but they seem to be far from done.
On Friday the Niners hosted former Green Bay Packers guard Lane Taylor, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
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The Packers signed Taylor out of Oklahoma State in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. The 6-3, 324-pound right guard has appeared in 79 games with 50 starts through eight NFL seasons with the cheese heads.
The past two seasons have been unfortunate for Taylor who landed on injured reserve which limited him to a combined three games during that time span. Ahead of the 2019 season he suffered a biceps injury and took the field in last season’s opener before suffering a season-ending ACL injury to land on the IR again.
While no deal has been made yet, don’t be surprised if a signing comes soon because Taylor will be a very affordable depth addition for San Francisco.
49ers Sign Two Beasts to Their O-Line in Free Agency
San Francisco’s QBs took quite the beating in 2020 and seemed to be determined to keep Jimmy Garoppolo on his feet, or whoever they end up signing.
The Niners and offensive tackle Trent Williams agreed to a massive deal early Wednesday morning when the eight-time Pro Bowler signed a six-year contract extension worth $138.06 million. The deal also includes $55.1 million and a $30.1 million signing bonus, making Williams the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
The franchise reportedly had a deal on the table for Williams for a while, but he was looking at his other options in free agency, including the Kansas City Chiefs, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported. Last season, Williams started 14 games, missing two games due to COVID-19 and then the final game of the season because of an elbow injury.
Joining Williams’ signing just a few hours later was former Atlanta Falcons center Alex Mack, who inked a deal with San Francisco which reunites him with head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan coached Mack at the Cleveland Browns and Falcons as an offensive coordinator.
Mack has been a durable and reliable center but missed two games this past season because of a concussion, though he had not missed a game since 2014 prior to that. The six-time Pro Bowler played his collegiate career at Cal and will return to the Bay Area where it all began.
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The 49ers Also Plan to Host a Quarterback
The Niners are on the search for “better options” as a backup for projected starter, Jimmy G., next season.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the 49ers will be hosting 36-year-old free agent signal-caller, Joe Flacco, for a visit.
Flacco would be another affordable addition as the veteran made just $1.5 million last year and would likely sign a similar one-year deal if he joined the Niners.
Last season, Flacco had 134 attempts and completed 55% of his passes with a 6/3 touchdown to interception ratio. He would be an upgrade to the 49ers’ current backups and he’s not hot on the open market, so the Niners could even get a discount.
49ers’ quarterback coach Rich Scangarello, who coached Flacco in New York and Denver, must have given insider information to GM John Lynch to make this one happen. And whatever he said, must have been really good because it worked.
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49ers Host Ex-Packers Starting Guard: Report