Could the 49ers find their offensive tackle of the future in free agency?

San Francisco could look to a familiar face to fill a major void for the future.

The San Francisco 49ers have quite a few free agents hitting the open market this offseason, with several of them having been starters over the past few years.

The most notable names who could command quality money include left guard Aaron Banks, cornerback Charvarius Ward, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

With the guard market exploding over the last few offseasons, it figures that Banks will get near or inside the top-10 range for guards in free agency. That currently stands at $16 million per year, which may be way too hefty for the 49ers’ liking.

Ward has publicly stated that he doesn’t intend to return to San Francisco, which makes sense with both the business and personal side of things, given the cornerback’s personal tragedy this past year and the fact that the 49ers paid Deommodore Lenoir good money.

Hargrave will be released by the 49ers on the first day of the new year and general manager John Lynch initially said the team would have interest in re-signing him. But, he backed that up at the 2025 NFL Combine by sharing that the defensive tackle market will be robust, and Hargrave will likely get a fairly commanding salary in free agency.

Of the four, Greenlaw seems the likeliest to return, but even he could get a strong multi-year deal elsewhere to be the No. 1 linebacker on a defense, which could price himself out of San Francisco’s range as well.

There is a sleeper free agent, however, that should earn a healthy salary that San Francisco could bring back: offensive tackle Jaylon Moore.

Moore, who has been a swing tackle for much of his career in San Francisco, started a career-high five games at left tackle this season in place of Trent Williams and impressed at times.

Now set to hit free agency, reports are suggesting that Moore could even climb into the $15 million per year range as teams are desperate for starting tackles, which rarely come available to sign.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer suggested that Minnesota’s Cam Robinson and Pittsburgh’s Dan Moore are the top tackles on the board in free agency with Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley staying put. Moore would be right after in that range.

And, the 49ers actually may be interested in keeping him.

The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami suggested on Sunday that the 49ers are prepared to be competitive in the bidding war for Moore, suggested they have interest in keeping him to be a future starter at tackle.

While Moore has only started in 12 games in his career, he is only 27 years old and the 49ers have a gaping hole at tackle following next season with Trent Williams’s uncertainty and Colton McKivitz being a free agent.

So, Moore could make sense to retain if the 49ers feel that they don’t have a better option to secure future talent this offseason via the draft. However, it doesn’t seem like he’ll come cheap.