The 49ers have signed a veteran OL with 30 career starts under his belt
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco 49ers hosted left guard Robert Jones, per the NFL’s transaction wire. Jones was an undrafted rookie out of the 2021 NFL Draft. During his rookie contract, Jones started 30 games, including all 17 in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins.
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Jones signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys last offseason. Jones’ season ended before it began. He suffered a broken bone in his neck during a training camp practice in July. He was initially brought in to compete for a starting guard spot. Less than a year removed from the injury, the 49ers are poking around a couple of weeks into free agency to see if Jones has recovered.
In 2024, Jones finished with a blown block rate of 2.9 percent. That would have been a substantial upgrade from what the 49ers received from their left guards in 2025. Jones gave up four sacks that season and only committed two penalties in over 1,000 snaps.
Kyle’s update, 5:25 p.m. PT: Robert Jones has officially signed with the 49ers, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
This likely takes the 49ers out of the running for an interior offensive lineman in the NFL draft, at least early–if they were ever in that market. Outside of Aaron Banks, history would suggest the 49ers were not going to use their draft capital on an interior offensive lineman. Those picks have been few and far between.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Jones earned 30 points in their player metric during his full season as a starter. For reference, that was the same number as rookie right guard Dominick Puni. Aaron Banks’s best season was in 2023, when he earned 28 total points.
Since we are in draft season, Jones’ wingspan coming out of college was in the 85th percentile, his 20-yard split was in the 89th percentile, and his vertical jump was in the 83rd percentile. Coincidentally enough, Puni was one of the player comps for Jones from an athletic testing perspective.
Jones must’ve been healthy enough to be cleared by the 49ers medical team. He’ll likely compete with Brett Toth for the starting left guard spot, allowing the 49ers to enter 2026 with starting experience at left guard.