The San Francisco 49ers are set to lose one of their notable free agents, as offensive lineman Alex Boone is signing with the Minnesota Vikings, according to Adam Schefter. The Vikings offensive line needs some upgrades to keep Teddy Bridgewater on his feet, and this counts as one.
The departure is not surprising. The team never approached Alex Boone during the season about a contract, and all indications are nothing happened in the offseason. He will factor into the comp pick equation, but that only matters if the 49ers lose more qualifying free agents than they sign. With the return of Ian Williams, the odds of losing more than they sign is not exactly super high right now. But, considering how quiet the team has been amidst the free agent rumors, you never know.
There is no word on numbers for Boone, but odds are it is somewhere in the Mike Iupati $8 million per year range. Kelechi Osemele is set to sign a deal that will pay him over $12 million per year, so it is possible the deal climbs a little higher for Boone. The market is being re-set in some ways with the huge cap space numbers we are seeing for a lot of teams.
For the 49ers, this means the offensive line will continue to see transition. Andrew Tiller is a solid candidate for a starting role at one guard position. With Daniel Kilgore at center, that opens the other position to Erik Pears, Marcus Martin, Jordan Devey, Brandon Thomas, and Ian Silberman. if Anthony Davis files his un-retirement paperwork, he could compete there as well. And of course, the 49ers could decide to invest in the position in the draft.