The 49ers Should Have A Clear Priority With In-house Free Agents

The 49ers have 21 unrestricted free agents this offseason but, beyond wide receiver Jauan Jennings, there aren’t many on that list who move the needle as players they should try extremely hard to keep on their books.

Interior offensive linemen Ben Bartch and Spencer Burford both have significant starting experience, but it would be no surprise if the 49ers allowed them to walk and remodel an area of the team that has continued to be a weakness.

Rather than getting into a bidding war for Jennings’ services or focusing on retaining the offensive and defensive backups that make up the bulk of their free agents, San Francisco should instead concentrate on the third facet of the game, with their entire core of specialists and some key special teamers all set for free agency.

Kicker Eddy Pineiro, punter Thomas Morstead and long snapper Jon Weeks are all bound for the open market, as are return men Skyy Moore and Brian Robinson Jr. In addition, linebacker and core special teamer Luke Gifford is also set for unrestricted free agency.

Robinson, for whom the 49ers traded last year, averaged 29.1 yards per kick return, good for 11th among qualifying players. Yet it was Moore — with his average of 27.5 yards per kick return (15th) and 11.6 yards per return (11th) — who truly electrified San Francisco’s return game following his trade from the Kansas City Chiefs.

His ability to make field-flipping returns made him a hugely valuable asset to the Niners and, with both Moore and Robinson able to contribute to the offense, San Francisco will likely be keen to bring both back at the right price.

Gifford, meanwhile, played 373 special teams snaps — tied with Siran Neal for the most on the team — and earned his first Pro Bowl nod for his efforts.

Bringing back Morstead and Weeks should be formalities, but it is Pineiro who is arguably the 49ers’ most important in-house free agent after a kicking performance that gave the 49ers much-needed reliability after the volatility they experienced with Jake Moody.

Having missed just one of his 29 field goals in 2025 — a 64-yard effort against the Indianapolis Colts that bounced off the upright — Pineiro may have several teams eyeing him as a potential free agent kicker signing.

However, after becoming a locker room favorite with the 49ers, it seems likely he will be happy to stay in the Bay Area. And, following a season in which Pineiro and Co. lifted a previously dreadful 49ers special teams to second in the NFL in EPA, retaining the key members of that unit should be top of the Niners’ to-do list when it comes to keeping hold of their own.