The San Francisco 49ers have some pretty difficult decisions to make this offseason when it comes to their class of pending free agents, especially in light of the fact quarterback Brock Purdy's cap hits will start eating up a significant chunk of general manager John Lynch's cap space.
One of the easier decisions, though, centers on what to do about the Niners' (occasionally) starting left guard, Spencer Burford.
Burford, a fourth-round pick from San Francisco's otherwise underwhelming 2022 NFL Draft efforts, originally looked promising enough to suggest he'd be a mainstay for the offensive line throughout his rookie contract, starting 16 games his rookie year.
Yet that began to change in year two when he entered a platoon role with veteran lineman Jon Feliciano, and Burford's biggest claim to fame might have been the infamous "missed block" incident in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, which certainly didn't earn the UTSA product a lot of fans from the 49ers fanbase.
Since then, Burford's role as a starter has diminished, primarily serving as a rotational player and being inserted back into the starting lineup for nine games in 2025, mainly due to injury attrition along the Niners offensive line.
Putting it bluntly, San Francisco will have little interest in re-signing Burford.
Spencer Burford's time with 49ers is likely coming to a close
There's already a precedent working against Burford's prospects for staying in the Bay Area into 2026, as the 49ers historically haven't placed high-dollar value on guards when constructing O-lines. Tackles and occasionally centers (see Weston Richburg and Alex Mack), yes. But not guards.
This is one of the reasons why the Niners had little issue letting their 2021 second-round pick, left guard Aaron Banks, depart via free agency to the Green Bay Packers an offseason ago.
Although the Packers certainly seem to be regretting that overpayment.
Burford's Pro Football Focus grade (58.9, ranked 49th out of 81 qualifying guards) doesn't exactly suggest he'd be a re-sign priority, meaning the only way he'd return to San Francisco is if it would be in a reserve stead, not unlike what he did for much of the last two years.
With Over the Cap assigning a $910,000 value to his 2025 efforts, that's certainly possible. But the 49ers may simply prefer to turn the page on the lineman's tenure and see if they can bring in someone with more upside.
The latter scenario appears to be much likelier, meaning Burford's tenure with the Niners is hitting its conclusion.