The Las Vegas Raiders may be giving the 49ers a chance to solidify the top of their depth chart at right guard. Josina Anderson on Wednesday reported the Raiders are expected to release RG Gabe Jackson after seven years with the club.
Performance didn’t drive the departure. Jackson was slated to make $9.6 million next season and his contract left zero dead money for Vegas to part ways with him.
In fact, Jackson played very well for a strong Raiders offensive front last year and started all 16 games. The two years prior he started all 24 games he played. An elbow injury limited him to 13 games in 2018, and a pre-season knee injury kept him to 11 games the following year.
While the 49ers haven’t invested heavily in the RG spot during Kyle Shanahan’s tenure, it was enough of an issue last year that they could wind up spending some of their limited resources to bring in a reliable player who can slot in as the starter and allow players like Daniel Brunskill to work in as a reserve. That would improve the starting spot and help their depth, which suffered badly last year as injuries stacked up.
It’d be a departure from the norm for San Francisco, but kicking tires on an available starting RG like Jackson could help secure an offensive line that needs some shoring up.
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