Report: 49ers center Weston Richburg has another surgery
The 49ers are likely to cut ties with center Weston Richburg at some point this spring after he missed the entire 2020 season following knee and shoulder surgeries. And his return to playing football for any team became more perilous recently.
Richburg, according to a report from NFL Network, had surgery on his hip, which means he’s had three operations since he last appeared in a game for San Francisco in Dec. 2019.
Richburg tore the patellar tendon in his knee during the 49ers’ last-second win in New Orleans during Week 14 of 2019, less than a year after recovering from a painful leg injury that required surgery to reconnect tendons from his quadriceps to his knee.
He sustained that injury in Sept. 2018 and played through it during the season, missing just one game. He later had shoulder surgery in 2020 which complicated his return while he sat out the entire campaign after missing the team’s Super Bowl run.
The 29-year-old joined San Francisco on a five-year, $47.5 million contract on the first day of free agency in 2018 becoming one of the league’s highest paid centers. Richburg lived up to that billing by playing at a high level, but the injury issues have caused him to miss 24 games (including playoffs) over the last two years.
Richburg does not have guaranteed money remaining on his contract, which means the 49ers could save roughly $4.5 million against the salary cap by releasing him. The team is currently projected to have $12.5 million in cap space, according to Overthecap.com before making any cost cutting moves.
Defensive end Dee Ford is in a similar boat, although he does have injury guarantees remaining on his contract, meaning the 49ers wouldn’t be able to release him if he can’t pass a physical. Ford missed the remaining 15 games after the 2020 season opener with a back injury and is slated to count for over $20 million against the salary cap in 2021.
Suffice to say, center and defensive end are two areas the 49ers would like to fortify this offseason in the draft and free agency.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 11:02 AM.
