May 22, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
The San Francisco 49ers<\/a> have had a productive offseason thus far, upgrading their wide receiver room, defensive line group and linebacking corps for the 2026 season, but they could still use help at one position.<\/p>\n Earlier this offseason, San Francisco lost Spencer Burford and Ben Bartch, who both started games for the team at left guard in 2025, in free agency.<\/p>\n The 49ers<\/a> drafted Carver Willis and signed both Robert Jones and Brett Toth to compete for the starting job between Trent Williams and Jake Brendel, but they could some use of their cap space and invest in a veteran like Kevin Zeitler.<\/p>\n Interestingly, ESPN’s Matt Bowen recently identified<\/a> San Francisco as a perfect fit for Zeitler this year.<\/p>\n “The veteran has a physical inside presence, using his power to displace defensive tackles. And he has the movement ability to pull on gap schemes, which fits into Kyle Shanahan’s system,” Bowen wrote. “Zeitler also uses his strong base in protection, ranking 37th out of 65 qualifying guards in pass block win rate last season (92.4%). He would be an upgrade to the interior of San Francisco’s O-line, which saw left guard\u00a0Spencer Burford\u00a0leave for the Raiders in free agency.”<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n The 36-year-old was a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft out of Wisconsin. He’s played for the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>, Cleveland Browns<\/a>, New York Giants<\/a>, Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, Detroit Lions<\/a> and Tennessee Titans<\/a> while starting 213 games in his 14 years in the league.<\/p>\n Having a proven starting guard could be really beneficial for the whole offense, helping both in the ground game and air attack.<\/p>\n