49ers: 5 Worst Free-Agent Losses in Franchise History

Over the years, the San Francisco 49ers have had many great teams. These great teams were led by even greater players. Unfortunately, even the great ones don’t stick around forever. Here’s five NFL players that never should’ve left the franchise.

Every year your favorite teams take to the draft to find that perfect player.

With any luck they will assemble a team that’s so good they make it all the way to the Super Bowl. Hopefully that team is filled with young players.

That way when they start to gel, the team will be a contender for many years.

San Francisco 49ers

But how long can a team stay on top?

On average, most teams contend for 4 to 6 years. Then the veteran players retire, and the proven rookies move onto different franchises to play for larger contacts.

With any luck, the team retains some of those proven rookies and begins to rebuild. In the rarest of cases some teams will stay together long enough to form a dynasty.

The San Francisco 49ers had success with roughly the same team for almost a decade.

The “Team of the 80’s” had seven players inducted into the Hall of Fame. Not to mention a head coach and a team owner who shared the same honor.

The franchise has won five Lombardi Trophies, and is currently on a quest for six.

Of all the amazing players who have suited up for the 49ers, here are five players that left the franchise, but should’ve been retained until the day they called it quits.

Next: Frank Gore