Weston Richburg
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Former New York Giants center Weston Richburg now has a new home in San Francisco as he is committed to signing with the 49ers.

As reported on Tuesday morning by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Weston Richburg will sign a five-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers when free agency opens Wednesday. The final numbers pertaining to the deal is still unknown.

Although the fourth-year man out of Colorado State was one of the best centers in the NFL in 2015, ranked number one that season by Bleacher Report, Richburg dealt with injuries the past year. He appeared and started in only four games before being put on season-ending IR at the beginning of November for a concussion. When the injury came about is when many fans and insiders became concerned over his future in New York.

Even though he’s been the New York Giants’ number one center since 2015, Richburg’s departure from New York was thus expected. The Giants, for the most part, have looked to use that cap space on other offensive line options. With the desire to pay Justin Pugh at guard, as well as looking for a younger, healthier lineman in the draft and free agency, Richburg was one of the least-expected to be brought back.

Richburg’s performance when he did play in 2017 wasn’t at his 2015-2016 levels either.  For the few games he played this past season, Pro Football Focus gave the former second-round pick an average ranking of 71.3. Safe to say, it’s not the best grade for a guy who was one of the best centers in the entire league for the previous few years.

Giants could now look to shop for a replacement for Richburg in the draft as well as free agency. Upcoming rookies such as Billy Price from Ohio State as well as Isaiah Wynn from Georgia round out at some of the top center prospects, but an interior lineman might be too early at number two. But then again, trading down is still a possibility for big blue.

It’s obviously a loss for the Giants, but the options are there to replace Richburg.  It’s also not the biggest issue for them, as tackle, running back and eventually, quarterback, are still positions that have problems to address.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.