31 players on the San Francisco 49ers are slated to become free agents in a month from now.
Most of them will be players that the 49ers will have no problem letting walk. Some of them will be players who they want but can’t afford to keep. That is why the 49ers have to look at a few of their under-the-radar free agents to bring back for cost and impact benefits.
Here are three underrated free agents the 49ers should re-sign.
OL Jaylon Moore
Being without Trent Williams will always hurt the 49ers’ offense. However, Jaylon Moore was able to shrink the hole decently. Even when Williams missed games in 2023, Moore did a fine job starting in his place. Odds are Williams will miss games again in 2025 given his age and body breaking down.
So, the 49ers need his backup in place. Moore has proven a capable starter when Williams is out and makes sense for the 49ers to bring him back. The issue is Moore may want to be an indefinite starter and he might have a market out there for him. It’ll be tough, but the 49ers should find a way to make it work.
RB Elijah Mitchell
It may sound odd to call Elijah Mitchell underrated, but he has been that since he was a rookie. Not enough credit was given to him in 2021 when he was the second-best offensive player after Deebo Samuel. Now, he’s become a forgotten player due to injuries and Christian McCaffrey.
Mitchell’s 2024 season ended before it started due to a hamstring injury that required surgery. It’s unclear what the injury specifically was, but it was serious enough for surgery and to ruin his season. Still, he is a player that the 49ers can re-sign for cheap and maintain depth for McCaffrey.
DL Kevin Givens
Last but not least is defensive lineman Kevin Givens. He has been with the 49ers since 2019 and could be looking for a change of scenery. However, the 49ers should consider re-signing Givens. He’s been a solid depth/rotational player on their defensive line.
Givens’ best trait is as a pass rusher, which is what the 49ers could use. The issue with Givens is he’s weak in run defense, so he can only give the 49ers so many snaps. Still, he should come at a cheap cost and can be a player Robert Saleh may want to keep due to familiarity.