49ers sign McKivitz, potential starting RT, to two-year deal

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The 49ers officially signed offensive lineman Colton McKivitz to a two-year contract extension Thursday.

McKivitz, a fifth-round pick by the 49ers in the 2020 NFL Draft, was a restricted free agent. The 26-year-old now is under contract through the 2024 NFL season.

He currently is the favorite to replace free-agent offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey as the 49ers’ starting right tackle next season if the need arises.

McGlinchey is set to hit free agency next week for the first time in his NFL career. Both McGlinchey and the 49ers are preparing to go separate ways.

“It’s definitely a tough deal,” McGlinchey said Wednesday on KNBR. “We have a lot of great players in the 49ers organization, which is why we’ve been good for the last five years, and it makes it hard to afford everybody.

“We have a Hall of Fame, and maybe [the] greatest to play the tackle position [Trent Williams] on our team already; it’s hard to imagine them paying top dollar for both.”

Over McKivitz’s first three seasons with the 49ers, he played 28 regular-season games (starting five) and five playoff tilts. McKivitz filled in at left tackle for Williams during San Francisco’s 24-9 win over the rival Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 3. He also started in place of Williams for the must-win Week 18 clash in 2021 against the Rams.

“The reason he was in that position to be put in to start a game for anybody symbolizes how hard he’s worked to get to this position,” Williams told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco in February. “It wasn’t like he was a first- or second-round draft pick.

“He wasn’t designated a roster spot. He worked his butt off. He put in the type of work and made the types of leaps and bounds that everybody recognizes.”

RELATED: Where 49ers' seven compensatory picks fall in 2023 NFL Draft

The 49ers will have Williams back next season as the starting left tackle. Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford will start at the guard spots.

McKivitz will be among those battling for the right tackle job, including Jaylon Moore.

The 49ers face a tough decision at center this offseason as Jake Brendel and Daniel Brunskill both are free agents.

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