5 mid-tier free agents 49ers must pursue (and can afford)
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: Tight end Robert Tonyan (Bears)
Leaving the Green Bay Packers wasn't the best of moves for veteran tight end Robert Tonyan, who went from a solid B-option on offense to an afterthought in the current ranking of all players at his position, netting a mere 11 receptions for 112 yards and no touchdowns.
That's a far cry from his 52-catch, 586-yard and 11-touchdown effort in 2020.
Turning 30 years old this offseason, Tonyan isn't a top-end offensive weapon, but San Francisco is still lacking a quality No. 2 option behind its All-Pro, George Kittle.
Kittle stayed healthy for almost all of 2023, which is great news. But he also has a lengthy injury history and is a risk to miss substantial portions of any given season. If no action is taken, the 49ers will be forced to rely on two less-than-proven on-roster options in Cameron Latu, who redshirted his rookie campaign, and Brayden Willis, who saw extremely limited action in 2023.
Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley are both free agents.
Tonyan and Kittle are friends, so that helps, too.
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