Former 49ers who may struggle to find a new team in 2023

A number of high-profile 49ers free agents ultimately signed with new teams quickly this offseason, but a handful of others may find NFL free agency tougher.

There was a reasonable prediction heading into the offseason that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would struggle to find a new team in NFL free agency.

After all, Garoppolo ended up suffering a season-ending injury for the third year out of six with the Niners, and San Francisco’s offense actually improved by a considerable margin when rookie quarterback Brock Purdy took over in Week 13.

Needless to say, Garoppolo’s market should have been thin, right?

Well, it wasn’t. Jimmy G signed with the Las Vegas Raiders awfully quickly, closing the door on his time with the 49ers and ending any suggestion of him being an undesirable commodity.

A good number of other former Niners found new homes relatively quickly, too, including veteran safety Jimmie Ward (Houston Texans) and right tackle Mike McGlinchey (Denver Broncos).

However, among those former San Francisco players who still remain unsigned, a few could have an awfully tough time finding new teams this year.

Let’s take a look at some who may be in that unfortunate category.

Former 49ers tight end Tyler Kroft

Head coach Kyle Shanahan tried to find his perfect No. 2 tight end to pair with George Kittle last year by grabbing former Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets tight end Tyler Kroft.

While Kroft had a seven-touchdown campaign back in 2017, injuries and an overall lack of substantial impact held the 30-year-old veteran to a mere four catches for 57 yards over 11 games.

Not exactly top-end production from even a backup player.

The 49ers re-signed depth tight end Ross Dwelley already, and this year’s NFL Draft is exceptionally deep at the position, too, meaning teams in need of a tight end are likely to look at someone younger and more promising.

Not a player on the wrong side of 30 years old coming off injury-plagued years and not delivering in one of the most receiver-friendly offenses in the NFL.