San Francisco 49ers Free Agent Option Number Four: Andrew Norwell

The San Francisco 49ers could definitely use some help at the guard position, and Andrew Norwell easily fills that left guard role.

The San Francisco 49ers are getting ready to improve their roster in hopes of making a playoff run once the 2018 season begins.

While the team as a whole saw tremendous success when Jimmy Garoppolo took over, the offensive line wasn’t talked about a whole lot. They were awful when the 49ers had to rely on Brian Hoyer to move the ball down the field and it was even worse when rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard was given the opportunity to show what he could provide.

By week eight, when the 49ers were crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles, the 49ers had arguably the worst offensive line in the league. They allowed 27 sacks by then, which was the 2nd most in the league.

By the end of the season, the 49ers had allowed 43 sacks. There were ten other teams that allowed 43 or more sacks. That means that the 49ers gave up 16 sacks in their final eight games after giving up 27 in the first eight. Eleven fewer sacks is an improvement nonetheless, especially considering that Garoppolo started in five of those games.

Garoppolo’s ability to get the ball out of his hands quick to any receiver is something we’ve seen before in Tom Brady, which isn’t a surprise because he’s been under Brady for several seasons.

However, the 49ers should make a splash on unrestricted free agent Andrew Norwell.

The Player

Andrew Norwell was born on October 25th, 1991 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The six-foot-six, 325-pound guard attended college at Ohio State where he also played his college ball, but went undrafted in 2014.

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The Carolina Panthers picked him up on a three-year deal and from his first snap with the team, Norwell had pro status written all over him.

In his rookie season, he didn’t allow a single sack or quarterback hit. In the 2015 season, Norwell was key in helping the Panthers go on a Super Bowl run, where they lost in the biggest NFL game of the year by a score of 24-10 to the Denver Broncos. He only allowed two sacks that season.

In 2017 season, Norwell was named an All-Pro and was ranked the third-best guard in the league by Pro Football Focus. For more advanced stats on Norwell from Pro Football Focus, click here.

Is he a fit with the 49ers?

If the 49ers were to open the checkbook for Norwell, he immediately becomes a starter for this team.

Going into next season the 49ers offensive line could look like this if everyone is healthy and Norwell is signed:

LT- Joe Staley

LG- Andrew Norwell

C- Daniel Kilgore, who recently signed a three-year extension.

RG- Joshua Garnett, who was on IR this past season.

RT- Trent Brown

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If you give this offensive line to Garoppolo, he will become even more lethal with the amount of time he will have to throw. It’s not like he needs a lot of time anyways but this could become one of the better offensive lines in the league.