The 49ers have to find someone to replace Aaron Banks as their starting left guard.
Banks recently signed a four-year, $77 million deal with the Green Bay Packers and left a void in San Francisco's offensive line. So who will fill it?
The favorite probably is fourth-year guard Spencer Burford. He started 29 games at right guard the first two seasons of his career but lost his job last year to rookie Dominick Puni, who was outstanding.
This season, Burford's base salary will jump to $3.4 million, and I doubt the 49ers want to pay him to sit on the bench. They're being extremely frugal all of a sudden. So he'll have to earn his pay on the field.
The 49ers also signed veteran guard Ben Bartch this offseason to a one-year deal worth nearly $1.2 million. Based on his contract, he's expected to be the backup. He's a former fourth-round pick who's only 26, so he could potentially beat out Burford for the job. But Bartch has had lots of injuries and hasn't proven he can stay healthy for a full season.
In addition to Burford and Bartch, the 49ers almost certainly will draft a guard. Don't be shocked if they take one in Round 3, because that's where they got Puni last year and he was a huge success.
But the rookie might not play right away. The only reason Puni started Week 1 last season is because Burford missed training camp with a broken right hand. Head coach Kyle Shanahan typically prefers not to play rookies unless he has to.
Subscribe to Grant Cohn's YouTube channel
Download and follow The Cohn Zohn Podcast