Mike McGlinchey says he “feels great”

There have been plenty of questions around the offensive line in an offseason that saw San Francisco lose left guard Laken Tomlinson to free agency and the future of center Alex Mack in doubt.

One question that received some answers during the 49ers pre-draft media session Monday was the health of right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

McGlinchey suffered a torn quad tendon against the Arizona Cardinals in week nine. The injury forced the veteran to miss the remainder of the 2021 season.

The update from McGlinchey was a positive one.

“About two months ago, I got turned over to our strength and conditioning staff,” McGlinchey said. “The plan that Dustin Perry and I and the rest of his staff over there have come up with has allowed me to start feeling really, really good again.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be participating much in football activities this spring, but I have about four more months to get going and I’m very pleased with the fact that I’m training full go.”

Quad injuries are tough on offensive linemen. Was McGlinchey ever told the injury could be career-ending?

 “I never had that conversation with anyone,” replied McGlinchey. “I wasn’t going to let that happen, and this staff wasn’t going to let that happing.”

“If anything, it was a problem that I’ve dealt with for a while. It wasn’t just last season; it was years and years of playing football. I’m a tall, long guy and I bend a lot for my job, and it take a lot on your knees. So, if anything, it’s going to help me on the back end of my career that I got a completely new quad tendon.”

San Francisco chose to pick up the fifth-year option for the 2018 first-round draft pick last offseason. To this point, there have been no indications of the 49ers trying to extend McGlinchey’s contract. Have the 49ers told the right tackle this is a prove-it season?

“No, I don’t think anybody has ever indicated this would be a prove it year, and you can’t operate that way,” stated McGlinchey. “That’s just an unbelievable amount of pressure to put on yourself and put on everything that’s going on.”

“I want to be a 49er but at the end of the day, it’s not going to be my decision. The best and only thing I can control is going out when the Fall comes and playing the best football that I can and let the chips fall as they may.”