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3 49ers players who won’t be back for the 2023 season

By Alicia de Artola

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo celebrates a touchdown with 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. (Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo celebrates a touchdown with 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. (Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports) /
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49ers, Jimmie Ward
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jimmie Ward. (Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports) /

3 49ers players who won’t be back for the 2023 season

Jimmie Ward

Jimmie Ward has been with the 49ers since 2014. He’s never played a complete season.

His injury-prone nature was a question for San Francisco in 2020 when they decided to re-sign him to a three-year deal. He’s now heading for free agency again and the hurdles to re-sign the soon-to-be 32-year-old will only get higher. The injury bug kept biting and he missed five games in 2023.

There’s a good chance Ward would cost more to bring back than SF can justify given his injury history, especially with a compensatory pick in play.

Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans looks certain to leave for the head coaching opportunity of his choice. Right now, the Houston Texans stand out as the most likely spot for him. That means 49ers free agents on defense could end up in the mix for the Texans as they look to rebuild.

Perhaps Ward could follow Ryans to Houston, where the head coach will be looking for veterans to set the tone. Or another team out there will be willing to pay him $7.6 million per year, his market value per Spotrac, despite the injury risk. Either way, it’ll be surprising if he’s in a 49ers uniform next season.