The 49ers veterans have yet to report to Santa Clara, but it already is clear there are five players facing a make-or-break 2025 NFL season.

This is not about making the initial 53-man roster, but rather setting up a body of work that will ensure a healthy contract with either the 49ers or another team after the season is over.

Like Aaron Banks, who played well enough to earn a four-year, $77 million contract with the Green Bay Packers after spending his first four seasons in the Bay Area, there are several veterans thinking about their future as they head into training camp in preparation for the regular season.

5. DL Jordan Elliott

Elliott signed a two-year, $7 million contract in 2024 after playing out his rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns. The defensive tackle was a third-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft and has appeared in 81 games over his five seasons, 48 as a starter.

The 49ers brought Elliott to Santa Clara to beef up the interior of the defensive line, and he was on the field for 441 snaps, or 47 percent, without a recorded quarterback sack in 2024. The defensive tackle registered 19 tackles — 12 solo, two for a loss and two quarterback hits.

Elliott will have a chance to show what he is capable of while both rookies, Alfred Collins and C.J. West, acclimate to the demands of the NFL. With an improved performance, Elliott could set himself up for a more sizable contract in 2026.

4. S Jason Pinnock

After spending his rookie season with the New York Jets under then-head-coach Robert Saleh, Pinnock spent the next three years with the New York Giants. The Pittsburgh product only started seven games in his first two NFL seasons but became a perennial starter for the Giants in 2023 and 2024. 

Recording 85 tackles in each of the past two seasons — 109 solo and 10 for a loss, the defensive back did enough to earn a one-year “prove it” deal, reuniting with Saleh as his defensive coordinator.

Pinnock will have an opportunity as the club’s starter to earn a future, multi-year deal while playing alongside Ji’Ayir Brown and/or Malik Mustapha, who is rehabbing from post-season ACL surgery. 

3. OL Colton McKivitz

Like the many 49ers offensive linemen before him, McKivitz is playing for a contract worth generational wealth in 2026. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 season, the West Virginia product has played his way into a starting role after being relegated to the practice squad as a rookie.

McKivitz earned the starting role at right tackle in 2023, prompting the 49ers to offer a one-year $5.85 million extension before the 2024 season, keeping the lineman with the team until he becomes a free agent in 2026.

If McKivitz consistently protects Brock Purdy on the right side of the line, compensation could be similar to Jaylon Moore’s two-year, $30 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Moore, the 49ers’ swing tackle, proved he could be an effective starter when taking over for an injured Trent Williams in 2024.

2. LB Dee Winters

Winters is set to compete to play alongside Fred Warner following the departure of Dre Greenlaw, who signed with the Denver Broncos during free agency. The 49ers drafted Nick Martin in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft to ensure competition at the position but also to find another potential starter at inside linebacker.

Over the past two seasons, Winters has appeared in 30 games, 10 as a starter, registering 54 tackles — 32 solo, 22 for a loss. The sixth-round pick does not become a free agent until 2026, when his rookie contract ends, but with a breakout season, the linebacker could earn himself an extension with the 49ers, similar to Greenlaw’s two-year $16.4 million deal in 2022.

1. OL Ben Bartch

After playing in only eight games for the 49ers, two as a starter, Bartch has the opportunity to solidify his place on the offensive line at left guard next to All-Pro Trent Williams.

Bartch originally was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft and appeared in 41 games — 20 as a starter — before being waived by the team on Oct. 31, 2023, and later signed to their practice squad.

The 49ers signed the St. John’s (MN) product on November 21, 2023, after which he was on the field for 28 offensive snaps and 23 on special teams over eight contests. The following season, Bartch appeared in three games, two as a starter, which included 65 offensive plays.

A solid performance as a starter by Bartch could earn the lineman a very lucrative deal in 2026 when he becomes a free agent.

Honorable mention:

WR Jauan Jennings

Jennings, who had a breakout performance in 2024, including 77 receptions for 975 yards and six touchdowns, is looking for a new contract as he enters his fifth season with the 49ers.

The seventh-round pick signed a two-year, $15.39 million extension in May of 2024 to play behind Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk but finished the season as the team’s top wide receiver. Now that Samuel is with the Washington Commanders and Aiyuk is making his way back from a devastating knee injury, San Francisco again is looking to the Tennessee product to carry the load on the offense.

Another standout performance from Jennings would put him in a position to receive a generous contract in 2026, but the wideout wants to secure his future before the start of the 2025 season. No matter the end result of Jennings’ contract desires, a performance akin to 2024 will prove consistency after recording 963 receiving yards over his first three seasons combined.

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