4 remaining free agents 49ers must consider before it’s too late
By Peter Panacy
49ers NFL free agency target No. 2: C Ben Garland
A lesser need than at cornerback, sure. Yet considering how much injury attrition played a role in the multitude of problems the 49ers dealt with along their offensive line last year, it wouldn’t hurt to stockpile some depth here, too.
One of those injured players was now free-agent center Ben Garland, who became the de facto starter late in 2019 in the wake of what essentially became a career-ending injury to Weston Richburg.
Read More: Pending free agents 49ers won’t bring back in 2022
Garland, suffering a season-ending calf injury in 2020, isn’t a flashy target at all. And especially not after the Niners signed one of the top free-agent interior linemen this offseason, Alex Mack, to solidify this position group.
But Mack is one of only two true centers on San Francisco’s offseason roster, the other being Jake Brendel, who’s not likely to make the 53-man group. And unless the 49ers are banking on Daniel Brunskill switching over from guard to center again to back up Mack in the wake of an injury, it might not be a bad idea to reunite with Garland on the cheap.
Garland knows the offense and would be a shoo-in replacement, should Mack suffer an unlikely-but-possible injury this season.