Jon Feliciano, a nine-year veteran who solidified the right-guard position last season after replacing shaky second-year player Spencer Burford, signed a one-year contract Friday to return to the San Francisco 49ers.
Feliciano, 32, indicated on social media that he planned to retire after the 2024 season: “Last ride,” he wrote, “#Year 10.”
Feliciano replaced Burford in a Week 13 win against the Seahawks on Dec. 10 and finished the season by playing at a “really high level for us,” general manager John Lynch said last month. Feliciano started throughout the playoffs, but he had to exit the overtime loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII in the third quarter with a pectoral injury.
His exit proved costly: Burford, a 2022 fourth-round pick, had a missed assignment that left All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones unblocked and led to a 3rd-and-goal incompletion in overtime.
“I should have just played within the scheme,” Burford said. “I played on instinct.”
The 49ers signed Feliciano to a one-year deal before last season with the idea that he would serve in a backup role amid questions about whether he could move well enough to flourish in their system. However, he initially opened eyes when he made three fill-in starts for left guard Aaron Banks in November.
A year later, he returns as a strong candidate to start in 2024, although the 49ers are likely to address their interior offensive line with at least one of their 10 draft picks.
“We teetered on (whether he was a) scheme fit because our scheme is a little different,” Lynch said. “You’ve got to be able to (move). Turned out, he was a really good scheme fit.”
Feliciano was a 2015 fourth-round pick, and has made 61 starts in a career that has included stops with the Raiders (2015-2018), Bills (2019-2021) and Giants (2022). Feliciano also can play center; he started 15 games at the position with New York.
Cornerback cometh: The 49ers signed cornerback Isaac Yiadom, 28, a 2018 third-round pick who is coming off a career-best season with the Saints. Yiadom signed a one-year deal.
Last season, Yiadom (6-foot-1, 188 pounds) made eight fill-in starts and had one interception and a career-best 14 pass breakups, two more than he had in his first five seasons. Quarterbacks completed 23 of 47 passes when targeting him and had an 83.9 passer rating. Yiadom has played in 87 games (28 starts) in a career that has included stops with the Broncos, Giants, Packers and Texans.
Yiadom played outside cornerback last year. He could compete to start alongside second-team All-Pro Charvarius Ward in 2024, with Deommodore Lenoir moving to slot corner on a full-time basis if Yiadmon impresses. Lenoir, Isaiah Oliver and Logan Ryan all played in the slot last season. The 49ers have released Oliver and Ryan is an unrestricted free agent.
Lucas signed: The 49ers signed Detroit cornerback and core special-teams player Chase Lucas, 27, to a one-year contract. A 2022 seventh-round pick, Lucas played six snaps on defense and 305 on special teams during his two seasons with the Lions. A gunner on kick returns, Lucas logged 230 special-teams snaps in 2023 and did not appear on defense.
Cornerback Darrell Luter and wide receiver Chris Conley ended the season as the 49ers’ gunners. Conley, who had two special-teams tackles in the Super Bowl, is an unrestricted free agent.
Linebacker returns: The 49ers re-signed Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, their top backup linebacker last season who has been a special-teams mainstay during his four-season tenure.
Flannigan-Fowles, 27, ranked second in the NFL in special-teams tackles (18) in 2022 and has played 569 snaps on special teams the past two seasons, the second-most on the team. Tight end Charlie Woerner played 714 special-teams snaps over that span, and signed with the Falcons this week.
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