Chris Foerster says starting RT role is Colton McKivitz’s ‘to lose’
Jun 1, 2023, 2:30 PM
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 15: Colton McKivitz #68 of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on December 15, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
This past offseason, the San Francisco 49ers lost one of the best right tackles in free agency when Mike McGlinchey signed with the Denver Broncos.
But is the team concerned? Offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster doesn’t sound like they are. Why? Because fourth-year offensive lineman Colton McKivitz is ready to take the helm.
Signed to a two-year extension this offseason, McKivitz finished the 2022 season with a 69.3 PFF grade, allowing no sacks all year. He joined the team as a fifth-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, slowly gaining more playing time over the years. And Foerster says the starting role is McKivitz’s to lose.
“He’s done a great job for us through the years he’s been here. He’s always had to fill in short spells and has done a good job for us. I think that knowing the job is his coming into it and it’s his job to lose kind of, although there will be guys that are there to compete if it doesn’t work out, I think it is also going to help build his confidence. He is good for the position,” Foerster said.
The team’s O-line coach knows it’s too early to compare the new starter to the former 49er, but he’s excited about the opportunity McKivitz is receiving.
“Mike McGlinchey is one of the best run-blocking tackles in the NFL. Whether I say it, PFF says it, whoever says it,” Foerster said. “Colton probably won’t be quite that, but he is a very good run blocker and his protection is really solid and consistent.”
Foerster said last season, McKivitz was playing as well as he ever played. But the 26-year-old suffered an MCL sprain in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams which curtailed his season.
“It was just kind of a weird thing and so he had a minor knee thing that took him out for a few weeks. And when he came back, it wasn’t like he wasn’t the same guy, but he just never quite got back to that level and he never really had to play the rest of the year short of a mop-up thing at the end of a game.”
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