The 49ers lost a slew of key players in free agency, which means finding replacements is next up on their offseason priority list. Some of those replacements will come via San Francisco’s free agency additions. Others will come from the draft, while others will come from in-house candidates.
We ran through each 49ers free agent loss, the options to replace them, and which player we’re predicting to fill a vacancy:
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There are a handful of options for the 49ers to replace Al-Shaair. It’s hard to imagine they’ll find a third linebacker who is overqualified like he was. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles was re-signed by San Francisco and the frontrunner to replace Al-Shaair, but Oren Burks could also be in the mix. The 49ers may draft someone as a long-term answer at LB as well, but an in-house candidate to keep a close eye on is second-year UDFA Marcelino McCrary-Balll. He’s undersized, but extremely athletic and could make a splash this offseason.
Predicted replacement: Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
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This is a tough loss for the 49ers. Ridgeway was arguably their best defensive tackle last season. DL rotations aren’t set and can change depending on availability and matchups, but the 49ers have a slew of options. Either Kevin Givens or Javon Kinlaw could be the top DT reserve, and T.Y. McGill was re-signed after doing a nice job on the interior for the latter half of last season.
Predicted replacement: Kevin Givens
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Replacing Brunskill won’t be straightforward for the 49ers. He was a quality backup interior lineman who could play tackle in a pinch. Last year he rotated at right guard with rookie Spencer Burford and competed for the starting center job in training camp. San Francisco has a lot to sort out on their offensive line, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll capably replace Brunskill with one person considering his versatility.
Predicted replacement: Nick Zakelj, Jason Poe
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The answer here depends on what position we’re calling Ward. He’s an excellent free safety, but Tashaun Gipson figures to hold onto that role after re-signing with the 49ers. There’s a little bit of a question mark around slot corner though. San Francisco signed Isaiah Oliver from Atlanta. He’s the frontrunner, but had some injury issues the…
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