Every 49ers Free Agency Move in 2026: What to Know About All 9 Signings

The 49ers have acquired nine new players who fill many of their roster holes going into the 2026 season.

The 49ers' offseason strategy is to build out their roster through quality veterans who are not going to break the bank. These acquisitions have taken pressure off the Niners to rely on their 2026 draft picks to be big-time contributors right away.

Here are the 49ers' nine free agency acquisitions as of March 25th:

WR Mike Evans

Perhaps the biggest surprise move of the offseason for the 49ers was signing veteran wide receiver Mike Evans to a three-year, $42.4 million deal. The Niners desperately needed to improve their wide receiver room, which was filled with question marks going into the offseason. San Francisco's receivers were injury-ridden and unable to separate from defenders, which proved to be costly when playing the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round this season.

It was clear the 49ers needed to get younger, faster, and healthier at the position. At first glance, you might notice Evans does not cover any of those criteria. Evans is 32 years old and coming off an injury-filled season where he only played in eight games. However, it does not make this signing a bad one by the Niners. In fact, I think it is their best free agency pick-up in 2026. The Niners are getting a potential Hall of Fame wide receiver, who, before this past season, put up 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons--tied with Jerry Rice for the most in the NFL.

The addition of Evans gives Brock Purdy a new and reliable WR1 who is open even when it doesn't look like it. Evans stands at 6'5, 230 lbs, using his size and ability to make contested catches over defenders. With Jauan Jennings most likely signing with another team and the uncertainty of George Kittle being on the field early on in the season, Evans takes over as a downfield receiving threat and big-bodied red zone option for Purdy.

One of the best attributes of Evans is his leadership and love of football. Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Jason Licht confirmed that Evans turned down a bigger deal offered by Tampa Bay to join the Niners, according to Rick Stroud.

In his introductory press conference, Evans attributed his signing with San Francisco to the success they had in 2025, even with all their injuries.

He dropped a one-liner that all 49er fans hope he follows through with:

"I feel like they were one piece away, and I'm that piece," via NFL.com.

Super Bowl champion Mike Evans will be exciting to watch in Kyle Shanahan's offense, and it will especially be great to see how his leadership and experience will affect this young receiver core in Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, etc.

DT Osa Odighizuwa

The second biggest acquisition for the Niners so far came via trade. The 49ers were in desperate need of defensive line help after sitting dead last in sacks (20) last season, and the Niners let defensive tackles Jordan Elliot and Kalia Davis walk in free agency.

The Niners traded away a 3rd round draft pick to the Cowboys in exchange for the 27-year-old defensive tackle. Odighizuwa graduated from UCLA and was drafted by the Cowboys in 2021. He has started 76/84 career games with 216 total tackles, 17.0 sacks, and 81 quarterback hits, via 49ers.com.

Osa is the interior rusher the Niners need going into the 2026 season, leading all defensive tackles last year in quarterback hits (23), via 49ers.com. He will be joining a young defensive tackle room with former 2025 draft picks C.J. West and Alfred Collins. Both West and Collins had solid rookie campaigns, but their specialties came in the run-stuffing department.

Odighizuwa is young and explosive up the middle, and the best part is, he still has three years left on his contract. It will be exciting to see the "Bosa X Osa" duo wreak havoc in offensive backfields this season.

LB Dre Greenlaw

Welcome home, Dre Greenlaw!

Greenlaw's return to the Bay was an exciting day for Niner fans. The ferocious linebacker left San Francisco last season, signing a 3-year, $31.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, Greenlaw was injured for most of the season, dealing with a quad injury that put him on the IR. The Broncos released Greenlaw with a post-June 1st designation.

The Niners signed Greenlaw to a one-year, $6 million deal, where he will be back with his other piece, Fred Warner. When healthy, Dre Greenlaw is one of the best linebackers in the league. Injuries have plagued his career, but if Greenlaw can remain healthy this season, there is no doubt the Warner-Greenlaw tandem is the best in the league.

It is a low-risk, high-reward signing for the 49ers. Any production from Greenlaw will be valuable. The Niners' linebackers seemingly all dealt with injuries last season, and having Greenlaw back in the mix provides the Niners with great depth at the position, especially with Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune, who have both shown they are capable starters in the league.

All I'm saying...if Dre Greenlaw didn't blow his Achilles out in the Super Bowl, the Niners were winning it all.

WR Christian Kirk

The Niners continue to rebuild their wide receiver room with another trusted veteran receiver in Christian Kirk. Kirk signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Niners. The former Jacksonville Jaguar, and most recently Houston Texan, did not have an eye-popping season, but he can be another trusted weapon for Purdy this season.

Christian Kirk has great hands and can run his routes well. Both of these attributes should earn him targets.

San Jose Mercury sports columnist and podcast host, Dieter Kurtenbach explained on "The Krueg Show" that Purdy was getting fed up with guys like Kendrick Bourne not being in the right place or running routes correctly throughout games. Purdy relies heavily on his receivers being where they need to be on the field when he goes to throw because he is an anticipatory thrower. So, if Purdy doesn't trust that you will be in the right spot, chances are he's not getting you the ball.

Kirk had a quiet season, but had his biggest game of the season against the Steelers in the Wild Card game, putting up 144 receiving yards and one touchdown. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend watching his highlights from the game.

CB Nate Hobbs

The former Raider and Packer signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Niners.

The Packers cut Hobbs just one season after signing him to a four-year, $48 million contract. Hobbs only played in 11 games after dealing with multiple knee injuries throughout the year.

The former fifth-round pick by the Raiders started in 43/62 career games and had 304 tackles, 21 passes broken up, three interceptions, 3.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, via 49ers.com.

Hobbs is only 26 years old and may provide good depth for the 49ers' cornerback room.

OT Vederian Lowe

The 49ers signed 26-year-old former New England Patriots offensive tackle Vederian Lowe to a two-year $9.25 million deal.

Lowe is a solid depth piece at swing tackle for the Niners. He started eight games in 2023 and 13 games in 2024 for the Patriots, via 49erswebzone.com.

Patriots fans on X said there was not a significant drop-off in play between him and starting left tackle and former 2025 first-round draft pick Will Campbell in the limited snaps he played behind Campbell.

G/C Brett Toth

Brett Toth signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the 49ers. Toth was an undrafted free agent out of Army and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019.

Toth has the versatility to play both guard and center for the 49ers. He is another solid depth piece for the Niners as they saw OL Spencer Burford sign with the Raiders, C Matt Hennessey sign with the Cowboys, and G Ben Bartch sign with the Lions as of today.

Right now, Toth is a potential candidate to be the starting left guard, but will have to compete with Connor Colby, Nick Zakelj, and the newest signing and former Miami Dolphin, Robert Jones.

G Robert Jones

The 49ers signed former undrafted free agent offensive lineman Robert Jones to a one-year deal.

Jones is 27 years old with 30 career starts under his belt. He signed a one-year deal last offseason with the Cowboys to compete for the starting guard spot, but he broke a bone in his neck and was out the entire season, according to Kyle Posey from ninersnation.com.

I have been adamant about the 49ers' lack of due diligence in bolstering their offensive line, but so far, I am liking the moves they have made in free agency to at least provide depth at the needed positions.

Robert Jones could very well be the starting left guard for the Niners in 2026.

P Corliss Waitman

The 49ers signed former Steelers punter Corliss Waitman to a one-year, $1.29 million deal.

The 49ers did not re-sign P Thomas Morstead, which makes me believe he is trending toward retirement after spending one season in San Francisco.

Waitman is a left-footed kicker who "pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 30 times" in 2025, according to PFF.com

His lefty kicks could provide another advantage for this 49ers special teams unit that was significantly improved last season. I'm not sure how many lefty kickers there are in the league, but if it is anything like lefty quarterbacks, there are very few.

Kicking a ball with your left foot produces the opposite spin of a right-footed kick, which can end up throwing off punt returners when attempting to catch the ball. I don't know how much of an advantage it can be, but it is different.

If you want to see how I graded every move the 49ers have made this offseason, you can head over to The First and 49ers Podcast on YouTube, where I was joined by my friend 49ermedia.