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Will the 49ers Re-Sign Aaron Banks?

The 49ers might need a new left guard.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Aaron Banks (center) blocks against Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (left) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Aaron Banks (center) blocks against Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (left) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers might need a new left guard.

Aaron Banks is an impending free agent and the 49ers might not bring him back. Starting offensive linemen tend to be expensive on the open market even if they don't have lots of personal accolades. Banks has never been a Pro Bowler but he was a second-round pick, he has been a starter on a high-powered offense and he fits a scheme that many teams currently use. He'll have a market.

And the 49ers probably won't compete for his services. They haven't spent big money on a guard since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch joined the organization in 2017. They let Laken Tomlinson leave in free agency and replaced him by drafting Banks. Now, I'm guessing the 49ers will let Banks leave in free agency and replace him in the upcoming draft.

The 49ers should feel confident about their ability to identify talented guards in the middle rounds of the draft after taking Dominick Puni in Round 3 last year. Puni started all 17 games and already is one of the best right guards in the NFL. And he wasn't a particularly high draft pick.

Don't be surprised if the 49ers take another guard in Round 3 this year. Because they took Banks in Round 2 and he didn't pan out the way they hoped he would. So why make such a big investment when they can find quality guards in the next round?

Expect the 49ers to scout the guards closely at the Combine next month.

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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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