3 former SF 49ers will be suiting up for Super Bowl 55

The SF 49ers won’t have a lot of former players represented in Super Bowl 55 between the Bucs and Chiefs, but these three donned the red and gold.

Super Bowl 55 is less than two weeks away, and unfortunately, the SF 49ers won’t be participants after coming oh-so close to winning it all a little less than a year ago.

The team that beat the Niners, the Kansas City Chiefs, pulled off a dominant win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship to advance for the second consecutive year, and there could be many arguments made Kansas City is on the cusp of creating a dynasty not too different than the last true NFL dynasty, the New England Patriots.

The Pats will be represented by one of their former marquee players, future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, of course, who’ll match up against last year’s Super Bowl MVP, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.

San Francisco doesn’t quite have a Brady-esque representation from a former rostered player in this upcoming game.

But there are a handful of former SF 49ers players who are in the bid to take home the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 7.

Remember these names?

Offensive Lineman Daniel Kilgore, Kansas City Chiefs

The longest-tenured former Niners player of this bunch is offensive guard/center Daniel Kilgore, who was a fifth-round NFL Draft pick of San Francisco back in 2011.

Kilgore served in a primary backup role for his first three seasons before starting seven games in 2014, then acting as a second-tier starting option until getting a full 16-game slate of starts under then-first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan in 2017.

The SF 49ers apparently liked Kilgore enough after that season to sign him to an extension, only to trade him away to the Miami Dolphins later that offseason after picking up veteran center Weston Richburg in free agency.

The Chiefs later signed Kilgore as a free agent heading into 2020. Given the Niners’ woes at center last year, it’s a bit of a wonder why Kilgore wasn’t a free-agent target for San Francisco.

Punter Bradley Pinion, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ah, yes. The first specialist taken off the board in the 2015 draft.

That class wasn’t particularly special for the SF 49ers, who were going through the initial stages of that now-infamous offseason where player departures and retirements were rampant. Yet then-general manager Trent Baalke still elected to use a fifth-round pick on a punter despite wholly bigger roster needs elsewhere.

Perhaps that’s where some anger came from the fanbase directed at Bradley Pinion, who wasn’t overly special or outstanding and was being asked to replace a perennial Pro Bowler, Andy Lee.

Pinion spent his four-year rookie contract with the Niners before joining the Bucs as a free agent in 2019.

Ironically, San Francisco drafted another punter, Mitch Wishnowsky, to replace Pinion. Maybe the SF 49ers just like drafting punters.

Quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s weird to think Brady’s backup, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, is now in a position where he can get a Super Bowl ring over the overwhelming bulk of Niners players currently on the roster.

But that’s the case.

Gabbert’s career and three-year stint with San Francisco need little recollection. He flamed out after being the No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars before being traded to the SF 49ers in 2014 for a late-round pick. He stayed with the Niners for those three years despite all the head-coaching changes and back-and-forth movement on the depth chart with quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2015 and 2016.

He spent 2017 and 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, respectively, before becoming Brady’s backup in Tampa Bay last offseason.

But perhaps Gabbert’s best memory is being referred to as Glaine Babbert.

Super Bowl 55 kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET.