The San Francisco 49ers have signed offensive lineman Jon Feliciano to a one-year deal. Feliciano is a veteran who has been with multiple teams throughout his career and now landing in the Bay Area. Here is information on Jon Feliciano and why the 49ers are signing him.
49ers Sign Jon Feliciano
It was offensive lineman Jon Feliciano himself who confirmed that he will be signing a one-year deal with the 49ers. The initial report came from Kim Jones on Twitter. Jones refers to Feliciano as a great locker-room guy, which is important for San Francisco. The details of the contract have not been released yet, but just like many of the 49ers signings this year, it will just be just a one-year deal.
Former New York Giants center Jon Feliciano – Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Feliciano entered the league in 2015 with the Raiders and spent time in Oakland until joining the Buffalo Bills in 2019. After three years the Bills released him and he headed to the Giants for just a year. Now, Feliciano’s next stop is in the Bay Area with the 49ers. While with the Giants, he played as a center, he spent most of his career as a guard. The 49ers are set with the center, recently re-signing Jake Brendel, but have young guards on the roster.
In 2022, as a center, Feliciano played 971 snaps, only allowing three sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He also only gave up six penalties during the regular season. Pro Football Focus lists Feliciano as having a 97.6 pass-blocking efficiency rating. Feliciano only gave up three sacks while playing with the Giants. That infers that he was able to hold off the stacked Philadelphia Eagles defensive line from last season as well. Now, if Feliciano plays, he will have to face Aaron Donald and the Rams’ defensive line twice this season.
Former Giants center Jon Feliciano – Corey Sipkin/NY POST
Perhaps the one downside of Feliciano is his run blocking, which pro football focus lists at 57.1. The 49ers are known to run the ball as often as they can and need an offensive line that can block for that. Fortunately, if all goes well, the team’s starters will remain healthy and that will not be a concern. San Francisco demonstrated that they plan for Brendel to be their starter for the next couple of years based on his multi-year contract.
The 49ers lost Dan Brunskill, who was second in the depth chart for the center, in free agency. Feliciano will most likely be the replacement for Brunskill, but having a long-term experience at guard is beneficial to the team. The 2022 49ers depth chart guards were Aaron Banks, Spencer Burford, and Nick Zakelj. Banks was the most experienced of the three, with 2022 being his second year. Even if Feliciano does maintain being a center for the 49ers, he can help the team’s young players grow.
Former Buffalo Bills offensive guard Jon Feliciano – Rick Scuteri/ AP Photo
This free agency has been full of the additions of depth pieces, and Feliciano may be one of the smarter acquisitions for the team. The 49ers will either have a young Brock Purdy or Trey Lance starting at quarterback. A veteran presence on the line between Feliciano and Trent Williams will help these two quarterbacks grow throughout the season.
Dan Brunskill was a player that would always go in when an offensive lineman got hurt. Feliciano also having a history as a guard and a center is a big factor as to why the 49ers have chosen to sign him to a one-year deal. Signing offensive line depth was originally one of the 49ers’ free agency needs they still needed to do. Now, they found someone with veteran experience. Expect the team to continue signing players to just one-year deals, as they primarily need depth at each position.
