Former 49ers players who are playing in Super Bowl 57

The 49ers came up just shy of Super Bowl 57, but there are some Niners alumni who are suiting up for either the Eagles or Chiefs.

Yes, the San Francisco 49ers should feel disappointed in missing out on the Super Bowl in back-to-back years after falling short in the last two NFC Championship games, last season against the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles most recently.

Likewise, the Niners are watching the team that last beat them in a Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs, return to the big game as representatives of the AFC.

Super Bowl 57’s matchup between Philly and KC might be bittersweet for some current San Francisco players who came aboard after departing one of those two teams last offseason.

Case in point, cornerback Charvarius Ward signed a lucrative free-agent deal with the 49ers last year after spending his first four years with the Chiefs. On top of that, defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway jumped ship from the Eagles to sign with the Niners as a free agent entering 2022, too.

While they’ll never admit it, there might be some thoughts and wishes about having stayed put.

Others, however, have departed San Francisco at some point or another and are now preparing to square off for a Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 12.

Let’s take a look at former 49ers players who are playing in Super Bowl 57.

Former 49ers playing with Eagles in Super Bowl 57

The lone former Niners player who is suiting up for Philadelphia is someone many a San Francisco fan might recall.

• RB Trey Sermon

Sermon, of course, was the 49ers’ third-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, yet he managed a mere 167 rush yards his rookie season before being waived entering his second year in the league.

He subsequently signed with the Eagles shortly after the Niners parted ways with him, but he only had two rushes for 19 yards with his new team last regular season and figures to be mostly a non-factor for the Super Bowl.

Former 49ers playing with Chiefs in Super Bowl 57

Kansas City has two more San Francisco alumni in its ranks, and one of them should be fairly fresh on 49ers fans’ memories.

• RB Jerick McKinnon
• TE Blake Bell

Bell was a Niners addition in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he spent two seasons with San Francisco before moving on with a number of teams, including the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys.

Understandably, Bell plays a minor role behind the Chiefs’ top tight end, All-Pro Travis Kelce.

Read More: Who was the last Niners quarterback to win a Super Bowl?

McKinnon, meanwhile, signed with the 49ers as a free agent entering 2018 but suffered a torn ACL before the regular season and missed back-to-back years there before finally suiting up with the Niners in 2020.

Not re-signed entering 2021, McKinnon subsequently joined KC and has been a regular part of its offense, accumulating 803 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns in a role San Francisco likely envisioned.

Both the Chiefs and Eagles will square off for Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET.