SANTA CLARA – Jon Feliciano, a starting guard on the 2023 49ers’ Super Bowl team, announced his retirement Thursday due to a knee injury that sidelined him this past season.
Feliciano, 33, called that 2023 season the best of his 10-year career, and he kept the door open for a potential return to either the 49ers or the Buffalo Bills, stating: “I’ll be ready for a playoff run in December if you need me.”
A 2015 fourth-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders, Feliciano played the first four seasons of his 10-year career there, then spent three years with the Bills and the 2021 season with the New York Giants before joining the 49ers.
He supplanted Spencer Burford as the 2023 49ers’ starting right guard by midseason and entrenched himself in that role up until an elbow injury sidelined him late in the third quarter of their Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss to Kansas City. Burford replaced Feliciano and missed a block on the 49ers’ final offensive play, a blown assignment Feliciano pointed out on social media the following day in defense of right tackle Colton McKivitz.
“After months of weighing my options, I realized I had to leave the game,” Feliciano wrote in a retirement post on social-media platforms X and Instagram. “The fire is still there, but I know I can’t last a full season and can’t bring myself to let people down. Being on a team and unable to help out your boys is rough.”
Feliciano spent last season on the injured reserve list, though the 49ers did activate his evaluation window during their bye when they were 4-4. Rookie Dominick Puni started all 17 games at right guard last season after seizing the starting role three days into training camp, when both Feliciano and Burford were sidelined with injuries.
The 49ers’ offensive line depth will be tested next month as left guard Aaron Banks and valued reserve Ben Bartch are slated to become unrestricted free agents. Feliciano played each of the past two seasons on one-year contracts, at salaries of $2.25 million and $2.75 million, respectively.
Christian McCaffrey, who won the NFL rushing title in 2023, congratulated Feliciano on his retirement through an Instgram story, calling him a “real one” and that “It was an honor” being teammates.
Feliciano’s retirement post thanked his wife, Shannon, and three children, as well as his teammates and coaches. “I wanted them not to doubt that I had their backs when I was on the field,” Feliciano wrote. “Their love and respect mean more to me than any championship or personal accolade. I truly played the game to help my teammates have success. I feel like most OLs do. Well, that and crushing another man’s will. That’s super fun.”