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49ers Sign Guard Ben Bartch to a One-Year Deal

Bartch probably isn't the long-term solution.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Ben Bartch (78) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Ben Bartch (78) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

If you thought the 49ers would make a major investment in their offensive line this offseason, think again.

The 49ers like to find the cheapest starting-caliber offensive linemen possible. That's why they just signed Ben Bartch to a one-year extension according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle and most likely will let Aaron Banks leave when free agency begins on March 12.

Banks is better than Bartch -- that's why Banks was the starter. But Banks most likely will get a multi-year deal worth roughly $10 million per season. And the 49ers most likely believe Bartch is almost as good as Banks for a fraction of the price.

Bartch was the Jaguars' fourth-round pick in 2020. In 2021, he started 11 games, but since then has battled lots of injuries. In 2023, the Jaguars waived him and placed him on their practice squad. That's where the 49ers got him.

In 2024, Bartch started two games for the 49ers. He played well in his first start, then got injured in his second start -- a microcosm of his career to date.

Now Bartch will have a chance to compete to be the starting left guard. His main competition now is fourth-year veteran Spencer Burford who is entering the final season of his deal. Which means that both Bartch and Burford could be goners in 2026.

So don't be shocked if the 49ers draft a guard in Round 3 or 4 that they can develop to become a starter next year.

Bartch probably isn't the long-term solution.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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