Daniel

Kilgore

Kilgore spent seven seasons with the Niners before playing in Miami and then Kansas City in his final NFL season. Kilgore, 33, struggled through various injuries over this last few years, mostly serving in a rotational role. A 2011 fifth-round draft pick by the 49ers, Kilgore played in two Super Bowls during his ten seasons.

Kilgore was cleared for the Super Bowl after testing negative all week as a high-risk close contact. Chiefs WR Demarcus Robinson has also been removed from the team’s COVID list.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported no players of staffers tested positive after Demarcus Robinson and backup center Daniel Kilgore were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Both players are considered close contacts of someone who has the virus, meaning they have a chance to gain clearance before the Super Bowl on Sunday. Kilgore’s barber reportedly tested positive for COVID, making him a close contact. We’ve entered the window in which a player considered to be a close contact might not have time to be cleared before Sunday.

The teams are swapping seventh-round picks as “compensation.” The 49ers just signed Kilgore to a three-year extension in February, but their signing of Weston Richburg made him expendable. For the Dolphins, Kilgore will slide in as the immediate replacement for Mike Pouncey. A longtime reserve who became a full-time starter in 2016, Kilgore has never been a Pro Football Focus star. He’s cheap and will gobble up snaps for the rebuilding Dolphins.

Kilgore will be a free agent at the start of the league year. The nine-year veteran has started 17 games for the Dolphins over the past two seasons. PFF graded Kilgore as the league’s 12th-ranked center among 39 qualified players in 2019. Kilgore will be 32 in December.

“Daniel is a tremendous veteran presence that our team needed last year,” said Grier. “For us, we expect him to be here, but we’ll see.” Kilgore started all 13 games he was healthy for, but he graded out near the bottom of PFF’s center ratings. The Dolphins should be aggressive on upgrading from him this offseason. If not, Kilgore will be back at his $3.1 million salary.

You never want to dig into your depth, but Kilgore was abjectly terrible through the Dolphins’ first four games. Travis Swanson is the next man up. The difference between the two players should not be large, although Miami’s offensive line issues are building after already losing LG Josh Sitton to I.R.

His left arm was spotted in a cast. Kilgore entered Week 4 as a liability and committed an awful botched snap in the first half for a turnover.

Coach Jim Harbaugh often referred to Boone as one of his seven “starting” linemen last season. The former Ohio State star played 172 snaps as a swing tackle and extra blocker in short-yardage packages. Right guard is vacant following Adam Snyder’s exit, and Boone is in the mix along with 2011 fifth-rounder Daniel Kilgore.

The Niners allowed veteran Adam Snyder to bolt for the division-rival Cardinals, leaving a hole at right guard. They traded up in the fifth round to get Kilgore last April. It’s an area of need for the Niners.