49ers 2026 Free Agents: Key Players Who May Not Return Next Season

The 49ers were dismantled in the divisional round of the playoffs by the rival Seahawks, 41–6, putting a rather unceremonious end to their 2025 season. It was a disappointing end to the season for San Francisco, and the team will look to reassess in the offseason in order to have a longer stay in the playoffs next year.

Now that the offseason has begun for the franchise, we’re going to take a look at the 49ers’ key free agents, potential contract casualties, and both trade and retirement candidates heading into next year. But before we get into it, here’s a brief explainer on the different types of NFL free agents:

Unrestricted free agent: Any player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract. They are free to negotiate and sign with any team.

Restricted free agent: A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them a qualifying offer—a.k.a. tenders—that come with the Right of First Refusal and/or draft pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Exclusive rights free agent: Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum, the player cannot negotiate with other teams.

49ers 2026 Free Agents

Jauan Jennings, NFL, 49ers — San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings had nine touchdown catches in the 2025 regular season. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

One of the main contract situations the 49ers will need to resolve this offseason is that of Jauan Jennings. The standout receiver led the team with nine receiving touchdowns in 2025, and with Brandon Aiyuk’s situation pretty unclear, he’s become an important piece in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

Unrestricted free agents:

G Ben Barch
WR Kendrick Bourne
LT Spencer Buford
DT Kalia Davis
DT Jordan Elliott
LB Luke Gifford
DT Kevin Givens
DE Yetur Gross-Matos
C Matt Hennessey
LB Tarron Jackson
WR Jauan Jennings
WR Skyy Moore
P Thomas Morstead
K Eddy Pineiro
CB Jason Pinnock
RB Brian Robinson
RB Patrick Taylor
WR Trent Taylor
LS Jon Weeks

Restricted free agents:

CB Chase Lucas
DE Sam Okuayinonu
TE Jake Tonges

Exclusive rights free agents:

RT Austen Pleasants

49ers Potential Contract Casualties

Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers — 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 season. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Aiyuk’s days with the 49ers appear to be numbered after the wide receiver missed the entire 2025 season and reportedly stopped communicating with the team. The 49ers voided the future guarantees in his contract, and a split seems like the logical outcome. Assuming San Francisco releases Aiyuk this offseason, they’d incur a dead cap hit of $29.585 million. That dead cap hit could be spread over the next two seasons if they release him with a post-June 1 designation.

In addition to Aiyuk, and San Francisco’s pending free agents, the 49ers could potentially release players that carry large cap hits for the 2026 season. Here’s a look at some potential Niners cut candidates based on what they're set to be owed next season (via OverTheCap):

C Jake Brendel ($4.125 million)
EDGE Bryce Huff ($17.033 million)
WR Demarcus Robinson ($4 million)

49ers Retirement Candidates

Among some potential retirement candidates for the 49ers include future Hall of Fame tackle Trent Williams, who will be 38 when the 2026 season gets underway. He’s under contract for one more year, however, so it’s certainly possible he’ll play out the remainder of his deal before entering retirement.

In addition to Williams, here’s a list of the other potential retirees on the 49ers’ roster:

C Jake Brendel (34)
FB Kyle Juszczyk (35)
LT Trent Williams (38)

49ers Trade Candidates

When stepping into the starting role in place of the injured Brock Purdy, Mac Jones excelled for the 49ers. He looked comfortable as a team’s QB1, earning five wins in eight starts. During his half-season run commanding the offense, Jones threw 13 touchdown passes to just six interceptions. He completed a career-high 69.6% of his passes for 2,151 yards and a career-best 63.5 QBR. Those are numbers that will have caught the eyes of quarterback-needy teams, and Jones could very well be a trade candidate for a team looking to bring in some experienced competition for its young arm.

Jones is under contract for one more season and will carry a cap hit of $3.98 million in 2026. With Purdy locked in as San Francisco’s starter, Jones could draw significant interest in the offseason.

In addition to Jones, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson would make sense as a trade candidate, especially considering how he played at the end of the season, stepping up for some injured Niners receivers and making some big plays. He will be in the final year of his contract in 2026 and has a $2.79 million cap hit.