The San Francisco 49ers offensive line has been a mess the last two weeks, and no changes seem in store at the moment. The right side of the line has been a particular problem, with center Marcus Martin, right guard Jordan Devey and right tackle Erik Pears all performing poorly in Weeks 2 and 3.
There has been plenty of chatter about the current 53-man roster, whether it means moving Alex Boone to right tackle, Brandon Thomas to one of the guard positions, and/or Nick Easton in at center. However, there is one other intriguing option.
Offensive guard Andrew Tiller is currently sitting on the practice squad following a rather impressive preseason performance. We'll certainly take reserve performances with the usual grain of salt, but he graded out as the best offensive guard in the preseason. He had a +7.6 overall grade, a +2.1 pass blocking grade, and a +5.2 run blocking grade.
It also sounds like some defensive players might be on board with Tiller getting a shot as well. 49ers beat writer Ryan Sakamoto had this tweet last week:
I spoke with a few #49ers defensive players who believe that G Andrew @BigTill66 should be given the chance to start at RG.
— Ryan Sakamoto (@SakamotoRyan) September 23, 2015
He also had a quotation from an unnamed defensive player who said Tiller is strong and blows guys off the line in practice. Sakamoto has interacted with some of the defensive players in the past, so this is more than just some random comment.
Considering the team kept Ian Silberman, Trenton Brown and Nick Easton on the roster over Tiller, I am not holding my breath to see Tiller added to the 53-man roster anytime soon. But maybe something happens down the road.