A year after handing him a three-year contract extension and just over a month after starting him at right guard in Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with Mike Person, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, releasing the 31-year-old lineman.
Originally signed in 2018 free agency, Person started all 16 games for the Niners during his San Francisco debut, then played 14 games during the team's NFC Championship run, including all three of the club's playoff games, helping power one of the NFL's top rushing attacks of the 2019 season. Person will turn 32 this summer, however, and hasn't stayed with one team for more than two seasons at a time throughout his nine-year career.
The driving decision behind Person's release was most likely money. The veteran blocker was only due an estimated $2.5 million in 2020, as well as $3 million in 2021, but the 49ers are one of the most cap-strapped teams in the league. They also just recently dished out big money to 2020 free agents Arik Armstead and Jimmie Ward, reportedly committing a combined $114 million to re-sign those two defensive starters.
A seventh-round draft pick of the Niners back in 2011, Person spent his rookie season in San Francisco, but he didn't actually take the field until 2013, with the Seattle Seahawks. In total, he's played for six different teams, also starting games for the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts.
