49ers Left Guard Aaron Banks Injured his MCL Against the Dolphins

Aaron Banks may have played his final game with the 49ers.

He left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with an MCL injury and did not return. The 49ers will learn the extent of the injury today when Banks has an MRI, but it seems likely that he'll miss the final two games of the season. And then he definitely will become an unrestricted free agent. And then he probably will sign elsewhere.

The 49ers have so many other, more important players to re-sign this offseason, players such as Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward. Plus they might give Brock Purdy a massive multi-year contract extension. So someone has to go, and that someone probably will be Banks.

The 49ers drafted Banks in the second round of the 2021 Draft. They sat him as a rookie, then made him a starter in his second season and he has been a starter ever since. But he never has been able to fulfill the potential the 49ers thought he had when they got him.

Banks recently missed back-to-back games with a concussion. During that time, journeyman Ben Bartch replaced him and served as an upgrade. Then Bartch went down, Spencer Burford filled in and he was better than Banks as well. Which means it shouldn't be hard for the 49ers to find a true replacement next year.

Expect them to draft a guard in the first few rounds. That's what they did this year when they took right guard Dominick Puni in Round 3, and so far he has been a big success.

Let's see if the 49ers can draft another quality guard next year.