49ers must issue a stern ‘no’ to signing these 5 free agents

Free agent 49ers must avoid No. 1: Offensive guard Brandon Scherff, Commanders

On the surface, it would probably be awesome to see the 49ers land five-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Brandon Scherff, who just completed another successful run in a Niners-like offense with the Washington Commanders in 2021 that netted him another Pro Bowl nod.

Scherff would be the ideal scheme fit, is still young enough at 30 years of age and would be a massive upgrade over San Francisco’s two starting guards from last season, Laken Tomlinson and Daniel Brunskill.

And with Tomlinson poised for free agency himself this offseason, perhaps it’s in play for the 49ers to go after Scherff as an upgrade.

The problem, however, is Scherff will wind up costing substantially more than what it would take to re-sign Tomlinson, perhaps in the realm of $12 million or so after spending back-to-back years on the franchise tag in Washington.

On top of that, Kyle Shanahan hasn’t exactly prioritized guard play over his center and tackle spots, which means the money used to go after someone like Scherff is potentially poorly allocated.

It would be one thing if Scherff would want to play for a top contender on the cheap. Considering his pedigree, though, the Niners would be wiser to re-sign their own in Tomlinson.