Four questions the 49ers still need to answer this offseason

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- With a couple of notable exceptions, the San Francisco 49ers have completed their most important offseason roster maneuvering. It included veteran additions in free agency as well as an NFL draft in which the Niners selected eight players, all taken between Rounds 2 and 5.

Despite those moves, the Niners still have lingering questions about receiverBrandon Aiyuk's future, the starting left guard job, potential safety help and whether a Bosa brothers team up could be in the offing.

Here's a closer look at what the 49ers still have to do between now and the start of training camp in July.

What will happen withBrandon Aiyuk?

While the 49ers haven't wavered from their desire to part ways with Aiyuk, they haven't yet released him.

The Niners have held out hope that they can trade Aiyuk and recoup something, even a late round pick, for a player once viewed as a future franchise cornerstone.

The thought, according to Niners general manager John Lynch, was that offseason benchmarks, such as the league meetings in March and draft in April, might spur some kind of action.

But San Francisco has found no takers for Aiyuk or really even gained traction toward a deal. Asked at the end of the draft whether Aiyuk's seemingly inevitable release would be forthcoming, Lynch again kicked the can down the road.

"No new update right now," Lynch said. "We're available. Give us a call. I think it's the prudent thing to do. He's an extremely talented player. He's been an extremely effective player in our league. The situation didn't work itself out here. That's not to say it can't be rekindled somewhere else. And we'd be happy to do something with anyone if the opportunity presented itself."

There aren't many obvious inflection points in the coming weeks. June 1st could be a logical target to release Aiyuk to provide some salary cap relief (his dead money would be split up over two years instead of one after that date), but the Niners have had the ability to designate him a post-June 1 release for almost two months and haven't done it.

Around the league, the expectation is that Aiyuk prefers to play for the Washington Commanders and quarterback Jayden Daniels, his close friend. That idea isn't lost on the Niners, who believe a trade would benefit both sides in that they'd get value for Aiyuk while also allowing him time to acclimate back to football in Washington's system.

What's more, Aiyuk's standing on the Niners' reserve/left team list could turn into a spot on the reserve/did not report list and subject him to fines of up to $50,000 per day without counting against the 90-man roster if Aiyuk does not report for training camp. Which means, unless Aiyuk shows up at some point, the Niners can continue controlling his rights without owing him any money.

For the Niners, such a situation seems like an unnecessary distraction, but until/if Aiyuk shows up, they can hang on to him as long as they'd like.

Who's in at left guard?

With the exception of injury-related uncertainty, 10 of 11 starting spots in San Francisco's offense are settled. The open job? Left guard.

In 2025, the Niners rotated among the trio of Ben Bartch, Spencer Burford and Connor Colby but from that group, only Colby remains on the roster. Although Colby had some good moments, he also struggled at times, which opened the job up to becoming an offseason question.

Since, the Niners sought cost-effective depth and competition in free agency in veterans Robert Jones and Brett Toth and spent a fourth-round pick on offensive lineman Carver Willis, who played tackle in college but projects to guard in the NFL. Based on league experience, Jones could be first in line for the job if he proves healthy. He started 17 games for the Miami Dolphins in 2024 before a neck injury cost him all of last year.

"He'll be in the competition," Shanahan said. "We'll have a number of guys in that ... When we get to OTAs, hopefully we have a number of guys fighting for that spot."

Toth projects more as an interior swingman who can be the backup center, but he also figures into the competition, according to Lynch and Shanahan. He's started six games in his career, including two at left guard last year for the Philadelphia Eagles. As a rookie, Willis will have the steepest learning curve, but he played in a scheme similar to the Niners' at Washington which should help his transition.

What about safety?

The 49ers used their eight draft picks to address the majority of their most pressing roster needs. But in a draft with talent at the position, San Francisco ignored safety, a spot that has plenty of short and long-term questions.

In 2025, the Niners had four safeties --Ji'Ayir Brown, Malik Mustapha, Jason Pinnock and Marques Sigle-- make at least seven starts each. Of that quartet, only Pinnock, who played as more of a third safety in "big nickel" packages, departed in the offseason as he signed with the New York Giants.

While San Francisco didn't directly address safety, it did sign defensive back Nate Hobbs in free agency. Shanahan has said he hasn't thought of Hobbs as a safety, but it's reasonable to think he could step into the hybrid role Pinnock occupied last season.

The Niners have young, unproven safety options in Derrick Canteen, Darrick Forrest, Jalen Stroman and Patrick McMorris, though they also passed on some well-regarded draft prospects multiple times with their eight picks.

"There were some guys that came off [the board]," Lynch said. "We've got a group that we really do like. But kind of the way the board fell, it just didn't work out. And love what we were able to add. The work's not over."

On paper, Brown and Mustapha, the duo that played together the most in 2025, should get another shot at winning the starting jobs with Sigle also pushing for snaps. But Brown is entering the final year of his rookie deal and Mustapha will be extension eligible for the first time after the 2026 season. Which means the Niners will continue keeping an eye on possibilities that might come up between now and the start of the season and safety could become an even bigger need next offseason if nobody nails down those spots in 2026.

Will the 49ers reunite the Bosa bros?

In each of the past two years, veteran defensive end Joey Bosa has lingered on the free agent market as fans have clamored for Joey andNick Bosato join forces on the 49ers.

At the league meetings in March, Lynch said it would "make Mama Bosa happy" if San Francisco signed Joey, but noted that he didn't know if the Niners can afford him.

Since, San Francisco has signed offensive tackle Trent Williams to a deal that reduced his 2026 salary-cap number, restructured defensive tackleOsa Odighizuwa's contract to create more cap space and will gain more when it eventually moves on from Aiyuk.

On paper, there's enough money and cap space to add Joey, but the 49ers prefer to roll over significant cap space each year. They also have a glut of options at edge rusher, though only Nick comes with a resumé anything like Joey's. Other options include Mykel Williams, Keion White, third-round pick Romello Height, Sam Okuayinonu and intriguing undrafted rookie Mikail Kamara.

"I'll never say never," Lynch said. "We'll never close the door to things like that ... He's a heck of a player, but I think we're at a place where we're comfortable with what we've done."

If Joey remains available through the spring, it would at least give the Niners some time to evaluate what they have (albeit without pads on) and potentially revisit the Bosa brothers pairing again this summer.

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