49ers win bidding war for key veteran
Competition was expected when it comes Jake Brendel’s services, but that didn’t keep the 49ers from re-signing their guy.
In just a span of a little more than 24 hours, the San Francisco 49ers have added and locked up key trench players on both sides of the ball.
The 49ers made one of free agency's biggest moves when they signed Pro Bowl DL Javon Hargrave on Monday. On Tuesday, they re-signed veteran center Jake Brendel to a four-year deal, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Brendel was expected to draw interest from multiple teams, including DeMeco Ryans/Bobby Slowik and the Houston Texans. And as it turned out, one team was very interested: the New York Jets.
At the end of the day, returning to San Fransisco trumped the idea of potentially playing with Aaron Rodgers in New York. There's also scheme familiarity with the Jets: offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett runs a system that stems from Kyle Shanahan's system. Mike LaFleur, the Jets' previous coordinator, did the same.
Brendel turned out to be a key cog on the 49ers offensive line in 2022. Now, he'll be able to build off last year's success and continue to be a key player for the next four years.
