The 49ers could potentially lose veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson to NFL free agency this offseason, and these four teams might want to pluck him away.
The San Francisco 49ers don’t have too many big-ticket players poised to hit NFL free agency in 2022, at least ones who are of the household-name variety. But there are a few players poised to hit the open market who have been vital to the team’s success over the course of 2021.
Offensive linemen rarely receive the kind of recognition skill players get, especially interior linemen.
But one of those underrated linemen hitting NFL free agency this offseason is veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson.
Tomlinson, who was acquired via trade from the Detroit Lions at the beginning of the 2017 season, hasn’t missed a start since solidifying that spot along the offensive line, and it’s understandable why he remains one of the Niners’ top re-sign candidates entering 2022.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old Tomlinson earned a respectable 75.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus during the regular season, allowing just two sacks and seven quarterback hits over 17 games played.
That might make Tomlinson a highly sought-after free agent this offseason, and these four teams might be looking to outbid whatever San Francisco is comfortable paying him on a re-sign deal.
49ers could lose Laken Tomlinson to Pittsburgh Steelers
The biggest storyline for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason is what they’re going to do in the wake of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s likely retirement.
But that shouldn’t overshadow the fact their offensive line was a complete joke over the course of 2021, only negated somewhat by offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s preference to have Roethlisberger get the ball out as quickly as possible.
Read More: 49ers can’t afford to let Laken Tomlinson hit free agency
PFF ranked the Steelers’ O-line 26th in the league upon the conclusion of Week 17, and there’s going to be a need to upgrade nearly every spot within this unit, especially with a new starter taking shape in Pittsburgh in 2022.
Someone who could open up the ground game for 2021 rookie running back Najee Harris, too.
With over $34 million in cap space for 2022, according to Over the Cap, the Steelers shouldn’t have any trouble outbidding the 49ers here.
49ers could lose Laken Tomlinson to New York Giants
Another team with an expressly bad offensive line from 2021, the New York Giants, has plenty of other issues to deal with.
Quarterback Daniel Jones proved not to be the answer despite the G-Men’s best efforts last offseason to surround him with weaponry, and running back Saquon Barkley hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL back in 2020 either.
Still, with a new front-office regime soon to be in place after general manager Dave Gettleman’s retirement, a renewed focus on the O-line might be the best place to start to get New York back into the realm of respectability.
The Giants are currently $7 million over the cap, but one might expect this new regime to engage a “slash and burn” campaign with the current roster, surely freeing up enough cap space to sign a big-name free agent or two and to provide the necessary protection for whichever quarterback is brought in to likely replace Jones.
Plus, there’s the need to replace and upgrade over pending free-agent guards Will Hernandez and Matt Skura.
Laken Tomlinson likely wouldn’t want to leave San Francisco solely to go to a rebuilding team like New York.
But the prospects of getting a hefty contract always are increased on poorer teams, and 2022 might be the last time Tomlinson is able to cash in on a massive deal.
49ers could lose Laken Tomlinson to Chicago Bears
Somewhat like the Giants, albeit with a new head coach and a new general manager, the Chicago Bears are going to be in line for some serious offensive line revamping during the offseason after this unit finished 22nd in Pro Football Focus’ end-of-year rankings.
The Bears will need whatever they can to protect soon-to-be second-year pro quarterback Justin Fields in the upcoming years, and Laken Tomlinson is one who can at least alleviate some of the interior pressure Fields will face over the course of his maturation process.
For starters, Chicago would be wise to find an upgrade over incumbent left guard Cody Whitehair, who carries no guaranteed money after this season and could end up becoming a cap casualty before his current contract expires in 2023.
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With over $30 million in cap space and a quarterback playing on his rookie deal, the Bears have more than enough resources to lure Tomlinson away from the 49ers this offseason.
There’s another kicker, too, as Tomlinson is from the Chicago area and might entertain the idea of returning home to finish out his career.
Even though it would be on a restructuring team.
49ers could lose Laken Tomlinson to Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers are in uncharted waters, the Giants are likely to go through a massive rebuild, and the Bears have a lot of work to do to support Justin Fields.
The Cincinnati Bengals, however, are one of the NFL’s rising teams behind second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, making the playoffs and even advancing to the AFC Championship team. If there’s ever a better context for a pending free agent like Laken Tomlinson to find a new home, it’s with Cincy.
Cincinnati, for all its strengths on offense, still lacks that thump along its offensive line, a unit Pro Football Focus ranked 20th despite the team’s scoring prowess.
Injuries were a key factor here, too, and the insertion of Hakeem Adeniji into the right guard spot was particularly problematic.
One of the things the Bengals might appreciate about Tomlinson is his durability, hoping to get another full 17-game season out of him to protect Burrow and to allow the ground game to flourish.
Cincy also boasts a whopping $59.2 million in cap space with a lot of the pieces already in place for 2022, meaning now is the time to splurge on even more pieces to protect Burrow.
Tomlinson may easily be lured in by the possibility of joining another playoff contender in front of a top up-and-coming quarterback while receiving quite the hefty payout all the while.