Richard Sherman is not buying the 49ers’ approach up front, and with Week 1 staring them down, he’s making the concern loud and clear.
San Francisco has spent years treating the offensive line like a place where it can get by without major draft investment. Outside of a future Hall of Fame left tackle, the 49ers have largely avoided putting premium capital into the group, and Sherman sees that as a mistake that could hit immediately.
That warning comes with the season opener in Australia looming against the Los Angeles Rams, a team that has reunited with future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald after his return from retirement. Add in the offseason blockbuster trade for reigning Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Myles Garrett, and the matchup only looks tougher from San Francisco’s side.
On his podcast, Sherman zeroed in on what he sees as the 49ers’ biggest roster issue: the lack of meaningful help for the offensive line.
“If anything, the cut-deadline deal for former Houston Texans offensive guard Jarrett Patterson was largely viewed as a scramble and little more,” the source article noted, and Sherman made it clear he doesn’t view that as enough.
“They didn’t strengthen it," Sherman said of the Niners O-line. "And now we’re a week away from the season, and they’re trading for interior offensive linemen because it’s an obvious place of concern.
We knew that two years ago. That’s the part where I don’t really get it.
"You’re about to go against the most dynamic defensive lines in the league in L.A. and Seattle. Two of the most incredible D-lines in the league, and you’re just gonna say, 'Hey, we’ll figure it out as we go', against Aaron Donald, against Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Jarran Reed.
That’s what you’re going to go with? That’s the plan?"
There’s at least some evidence behind Sherman’s frustration. San Francisco used a third-round pick on right guard Dominick Puni in 2024, but it hasn’t spent a first-round pick on an offensive lineman since taking right tackle Mike McGlinchey in 2018. Its two offensive linemen from last April, Carver Willis and Enrique Cruz Jr., were both fifth-round selections and are viewed as projects.
Most of the other moves the 49ers have made for the position have been low-end roster additions rather than upgrades aimed at securing starting-caliber talent.
With the Rams and the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks both standing as real threats, Sherman’s point is hard to dismiss. If the line becomes a liability, the 49ers will be the ones paying for it.
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For San Francisco, the test is bigger than the legal fallout itself because ownership presence matters during a season, especially for a franchise that has spent years trying to keep its football side steady. The 49ers have tried to project calm publicly, but Yorks absence from the usual rhythm of the operation leaves a different kind of question hanging over the organization: not what happened in Ohio, but how long the team can keep functioning as if nothing has changed. [Read more 🡒]
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49ers Have A Tempting O-Line Possibility They May Not Afford
The 49ers search for stability at left guard has made Quenton Nelson look like the kind of rare upgrade that would instantly change the conversation up front. The Indianapolis Colts still have not reached an extension with the three-time All-Pro, and the talks are currently stagnant, which is enough to get any team with an opening on the interior offensive line at least thinking about a move.
San Francisco is one of the clubs that naturally comes up in that discussion because the spot remains a weakness, but the fit is not so simple. Salary cap constraints and the teams other priorities make a deal for Nelson look unlikely right now, even if the talent level would be hard to ignore for a 49ers front office that knows how valuable dominant play inside can be. [Read more 🡒]