5 free agents 49ers will be glad they didn’t sign in 2022

No. 1: 49ers can be glad they didn’t sign OL Andrew Norwell

There was a time when the Niners could have been in the market for offensive lineman Andrew Norwell, who eventually inked a massive five-year, $66.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018.

Perhaps San Francisco can feel good about that non-sign deal, as Norwell never came close to living up to that payday.

Struggling during his Jags tenure, the 31-year-old Norwell eventually settled on a two-year, $10 million deal with the Washington Commanders this offseason, suggesting where his career might be heading after he looked to be on a path to becoming one of the best offensive guards in the league.

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Yes, the 49ers would have had a need, potentially, in the wake of losing Pro Bowl left guard Laken Tomlinson in NFL free agency to the New York Jets. But, as was the case with losing D.J. Jones, the Niners elected not to take on a reclamation project in Norwell and instead went with on-roster contingency plans, likely replacing Tomlinson with their second-round pick of the 2021 draft, Aaron Banks.

We’ll see if Banks pans out after hardly playing his rookie season, but at least San Francisco is focusing on future options instead of trying to bank on stopgap ones like Norwell.