Kyle Shanahan's search for a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers continues, and there's a lot of work to do this offseason. Whether you're talking about the 2026 NFL Draft or the heart of free agency before that, the 49ers proved in getting blown out by the rival Seahawks in the Divisional Round that the roster needs a bevy of help to get over the hump. Sure, injuries played a role in their eventual postseason demise, but the depth was lacking — and that may only be tested further with some of the players they're likely to part with this offseason.
While there are some big-name free agents in San Francisco, I expect that the 49ers will get something done to bring guys like Jauan Jennings back, especially given the team's situation at wide receiver. However, there are a number of players entering free agency who will likely be helped out the door, and a few more who will get pushed out behind them by one way or another.
49ers free agents who will be playing elsewhere in 2026
RB Brian Robinson Jr.
Especially given the injury woes of Christian McCaffrey a season ago, it made perfect sense why San Francisco was keen on trading for Brian Robinson Jr. Over three seasons in Washington prior, while he wasn't a superstar, he was certainly a more-than-serviceable backfield option. And it stood to reason that he could fill in for McCaffrey if need be and perhaps provide even more in Shanahan's run schemes.
CMC stayed healthy for much of the year, however, but Robinson still showed he has some juice in the tank. Despite getting just 92 carries on the year, he rushed for 400 yards, though he only found the end zone twice. Still, he was precisely what the 49ers were hoping he would be — the opportunity for him to have more of an impact just never arose.
But Robinson will be just 27 years old at the start of the 2026 season and is now hitting free agency. Given that he's been consistently productive when given opportunities, the expectation is that the veteran running back will test the market and look for a landing spot that will either give him a lead role or more of a time share. Frankly, he's deserving of that, but it's a loss the Niners will have to contend with.
EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos
Yetur Gross-Matos actually represents a befuddling catch-22 for the 49ers moving forward. On the one hand, the team's lack of depth in the trenches on both sides of the ball proved to be their doom. Letting a budget-friendly edge rusher who has been productive when on the field walk in free agency after seeing that certainly doesn't seem like good business to try and rebound as a team.
At the same time, however, the veteran edge rusher is also part of the reason that San Francisco has been in need of more depth along the defensive line. Out of a combined 34 possible regular-season games since signing with the Niners, Gross-Matos has only played in 19 games due to various injuries. Again, he's been a fine player when healthy, but that's been far too infrequent of an occurrence.
While any financial constraints could potentially keep San Francisco in contact with Gross-Matos about a potential return to the Bay Area, the likelier option is that the 49ers look elsewhere to try and supplement their depth on the defensive line meaningfully.
WR Kendrick Bourne
Speaking of intriguing cases, Kendrick Bourne is certainly that. Amid the plethora of receiver injuries that the 49ers suffered throughout the year, the veteran stepped up and produced. He was an important part of the offense at all times, but also had some monster outings when he was called upon to be "The Guy", most notably with back-to-back 142-yard games in early October when he was ostensibly promoted to WR1 in the offense.
But again, the 49ers have a ton of wide receiver questions this offseason. Can they rely on Ricky Pearsall? How quickly can they get Brandon Aiyuk off the roster? Will they be able to re-sign Jennings? For me, the future of Bourne with San Francisco may come down to that last question. If the Niners get priced out on Jennings in free agency, then it would make sense to bring him back on a short-term deal for his age-31 season.
However, I've already said that I believe the 49ers complete the push to bring Jennings back. As such, that likely doesn't leave a ton of room for Bourne on the roster, especially since his spike outings this year could make him a more coveted commodity in his own market than San Francisco would really like to afford.
OL Spencer Burford
Much like with Gross-Matos, it might seem counterintuitive for the 49ers to cut bait with a player at a position where they direly need depth. That's even more so the case for someone like Spencer Burford, who's been with San Francisco for the last four seasons after the organization drafted him back in 2022. But what should be said about that is the Niners need quality depth to move forward properly, and Burford hasn't proven to be that.
Burford has registered sub-average PFF grades in every year of his career to this point, which ultimately led to his role completely dissipating coming into this season, which was exacerbated due to a stint on Injured Reserve. When he returned, though, he was only thrust back into action after Ben Bartch's injury, and when the 49ers seemingly felt as if they really didn't have many options.
Make no mistake, the 49ers should be keen on adding offensive linemen this offseason. But with how disappointing Burford has been to the point, that should include replacing him with a more usable depth option.
These 49ers are likely to either be cut or traded this offseason
QB Mac Jones
Beyond just the free agents that the 49ers could lose, though, we also have to examine some potential roster turnover through other avenues. Quarterback Mac Jones certainly stands out in that department. There's no question that he proved immensely valuable for the team this year in the wake of Brock Purdy missing essentially two months worth of games, and he performed beautifully when called upon. But that's also what makes him a trade candidate.
There is a legitimate quarterback scarcity problem in the NFL this offseason. Not only is it a draft class seemingly with one sure option at the top and then nothing but fliers thereafter, but the free agent class is middling at best, and there is maybe on truly enticing trade candidate in Kyler Murray. So imagine what the 49ers could potentially net in a trade for a quarterback who went 5-3 as a starter this season with San Francisco, and has the pedigree of a former first-round pick — especially with successful reclamation projects working right now throughout the league.
With the roster depth that this team needs, the best allocation of resources isn't holding onto Jones as a break-in-case-of-emergency option behind Purdy. Trading him, finding another veteran backup that Shanahan likes, and then reaping the rewards to replenish the rest of the roster with the assets acquired via such a trade makes the most sense.
EDGE Bryce Huff
What the 49ers elect to do with Bryce Huff this offseason is going to be fascinating, but we should start with the fact that he's simply a cut candidate due to the possibility of freeing up cap space. He's only due $5.392 million for the 2026 season, but none of that is guaranteed, which could be used to help add more pieces throughout the offseason.
Furthermore, Huff was brought in via trade from the Eagles this offseason to reunite with Robert Saleh. However, the 49ers defensive coordinator could be on the move in his own right, which would seemingly cut the strongest tie to Huff. And that also doesn't account for the fact that Huff simply wasn't all that impactful for San Francisco's defense this year, either, registering just 4.0 sacks and six tackles for loss, despite the Niners practically begging for more defensive line help.
Again, this is a roster that needs depth in the trenches, and Huff is affordable enough that you would understand keeping him around. At the same time, it's also not hard to understand if the 49ers front office and coaching staff — particularly if Saleh leaves — elects to try and allocate his money to another player they believe has higher upside.
WR Brandon Aiyuk
This really isn't a shock at this point, but it has to be mentioned. At one point, it seemed like the 49ers were comfortable making Brandon Aiyuk one of the focal points of the offense for now and years to come. Then came the highly unfortunate ACL and MCL tear in the 2024 season, and things have snowballed downhill since then, ultimately leading to his guaranteed money from a four-year, $120 million contract being entirely voided by San Francisco.
With no more guarantees, which notably resulted from him cutting off the 49ers organization and no longer showing up at the facility, the 49ers can now move off of Aiyuk easily this offseason. Furthermore, they probably want to, as the bad blood has seemingly boiled over. It's one of the reasons that the franchise is so direly in need of reshaping the wide receiver room this offseason, because Aiyuk was supposed to be at the heart of it, and now he won't be.
Aiyuk will resurface somewhere else in the NFL and, assuming he's healthy, I'd say it's also a fair bet that he could be an impact player for another offense. There's precisely no chance that's with the San Francisco 49ers, though. The bridges have been burned, and there's nothing left to do but for the two parties to go their separate ways.