49ers made a great decision by not trading Mike McGlinchey
When talking about the San Fransisco 49ers and Mike McGlinchey's future, just about everyone knew the former top-10 pick was going to sign elsewhere in free agency. And, apparently, McGlinchey knew for "about a year" that his career with the 49ers would end before his overall NFL career did. The 49ers even told McGlinchey that […]
When talking about the San Fransisco 49ers and Mike McGlinchey's future, just about everyone knew the former top-10 pick was going to sign elsewhere in free agency.
And, apparently, McGlinchey knew for "about a year" that his career with the 49ers would end before his overall NFL career did. The 49ers even told McGlinchey that they may try to trade him after the 2021 season. The sixth-year player recently revealed as much in a column he wrote for ESPN:
IF YOU'RE PAYING attention — and believe me, I was — it was easy to figure out that I wouldn't be back with the 49ers after this past season. To be honest, I knew for about a year. They had [left tackle] Trent Williams, making the amount of money that he does [$27.2 million cap figure in 2023], and this is just the way the team has always gone about its business.
There were no surprises, that's for sure. [Niners general manager] John Lynch and [coach] Kyle Shanahan kept me updated the whole time, and they were very clear about what was going to happen. But I definitely got a behind-the-curtain look at how the sausage is made in the NFL. After the 2021 season, they both told me, "We may even look to move you at some point. We're projecting into the future, and we think you're going to get priced out. We want to get something in return." – Broncos RT Mike McGlinchey, ESPN
It's obviously unclear as to how much the 49ers would've received in return for McGlinchey, who only played eight games in 2021 because of a quad injury. He was an OK player up until that point, so his market was probably murky, at best.
And, if the 49ers knew they weren't going to be able to retain him, it makes sense to go ahead and get out in front of the situation.
But, the 49ers decided to keep McGlinchey and now, they look like geniuses.
There are two big reasons why the 49ers made the right decision by not trading him, however. For starters, McGlinchey helped the team reach its third NFC Championship game in the last four years. And secondly, the 49ers are currently in line to receive a third-round compensatory pick for McGlinchey's departure, per Over The Cap.
Now, granted, that could change. The NFL's compensatory pick formula is a tricky one. However, it's probably safe to assume the 49ers aren't going to sign any more free agents to massive deals like they did Javon Hargarve. Therefore, they shouldn't be at risk of losing McGlinchey's comp pick if they sign another free agent.
At the end of the day, the 49ers got one more good year out of a top-10 pick and they should still get a solid draft pick return for his services. Yes, they have a spot to fill at right tackle this year and the comp pick doesn't come into play until 2024, but they were going to have to fill the position, anyway, and now they have an extra resource to do just that.
It's just one of the many reasons why John Lynch and co. are one of the NFL's best front offices.
You can read McGlinchey's full column, here.
