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The 49ers' Offensive Line Still is a Major Issue

After losing nine starting players this offseason, the 49ers still have a lot to like about their roster, but their offensive line remains a major issue.
Grant Cohn|
Jun 10, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive linemen Ben Bartch (78), Dominick Puni (77), Trent Williams (71) and Colton McKivitz (68) during an OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Jun 10, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive linemen Ben Bartch (78), Dominick Puni (77), Trent Williams (71) and Colton McKivitz (68) during an OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

After losing nine starting players this offseason, the 49ers still have a lot to like about their roster, but their offensive line remains a major issue.

It wasn't particularly good last season. Now, it's even thinner, which is why it's one of the most untalked about problems in the NFL, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

"They’re losing Jaylon Moore to the Chiefs and guard Aaron Banks (who got a big payday in Green Bay)," writes Breer. "Trent Williams is still great, but he’s going into his 16th season, turns 37 next month, and has been nicked up the past few years. There is some promising young talent there (Dominick Puni is one to watch), but the depth is fair to question."

Breer is absolutely correct. The 49ers are one injury to Trent Williams away from fielding an offensive line that consists of Spencer Burford, Ben Bartch, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz. On paper, that would be the worst offensive line in the NFL. And Williams has missed at least one game every season since 2013.

You'd think the 49ers would have made some bigger investments into their offensive line this offseason, considering they have $46 million in cap space and just gave Brock Purdy a five-year, $265 million extension. Usually, teams want to protect their franchise quarterback. I guess the 49ers expect Purdy to protect himself.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, if Purdy gets injured, they'll be blamed for going cheap on the offensive line.

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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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