Getty

Jon Feliciano was disappointed after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22 in overtime during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024.

On Monday June 9, 2025, a post on X made waves amongst the community of San Francisco 49ers fans.

That post came from former 49ers offensive lineman Jon Feliciano. Feliciano, who was with the 49ers in 2023 and 2024 before retiring from the NFL in early 2025, posted a short, cryptic sentence that made fans think he may be looking to return to football.

“Retirement currently isn’t as fun as I thought it would be,” Feliciano wrote.

The post was liked, reshared and commented on by hundreds of 49er faithful who wanted to see Feliciano return to San Francisco.

“Niners sure could use you again, sir…” one user wrote in a reply to the post.

Feliciano Left the Door Open for a Return

Feliciano unfortunately didn’t entirely have a choice about whether or not he retired.

When he announced his retirement in a post on X back on February 20, 2025, Feliciano said the “fire is still there” but he knows that his body wouldn’t stay healthy for the course of an entire season.

Feliciano just missed the entirety of the 2024 season recovering from knee surgery.

However, Feliciano also made it clear that un-retirement was an option, but made that offer to only two teams. The 49ers were one of them (the Buffalo Bills were the other).

“Buffalo or SF, I’ll be ready for a playoff run in December if you need me,” Feliciano wrote.

After his most recent post on June 9, it looks like he is itching to come back even sooner than that.

Would the 49ers and Feliciano Make a Good Match in 2025? 

The 49ers are trying to make a playoff run in December, and rebound from a disappointing 2025 season where they were bogged down by injuries, went 6-11 and missed the playoffs.

But if they are in that position late in the season, will they give Feliciano a call? And, if they did, would Feliciano answer it with a yes?

After a solid season of offensive line play in 2024, the 49ers chose to run it back with basically the same unit they had last season. Their biggest addition will come internally, with offensive tackle Trent Williams, one of the best linemen in football history, set to return from injury this season.

Because of that, 49ers fans should expect a solid season of offensive line play. Kyle Long recently rated the 49ers offensive line as a B-Tier squad on CBS Sports’ “Pushing the Pile” podcast, which means “Far more than serviceable, if not special” according to Long’s criteria.

Long did rate seven offensive line units ahead of the 49ers however. The 49ers will also almost certainly deal with injuries on the offensive line, and any team hoping to compete for a Super Bowl title wants to be elite at every position heading into the playoffs.

Feliciano’s last time on a football field was when the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs on a heartbreaking last second touchdown. If his X account is any indication, that loss has stuck with him. As someone who did not win a Super Bowl during his career, he has to be bummed about not reaching the pinnacle of the sport.

Perhaps that drive to deliver a Super Bowl back to the Bay Area is what will inspire his potential unretirement.

Regardless, 49ers fans will monitor Feliciano’s X account for any clues on how this situation may be progressing.

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for Heavy sports. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman

More Heavy on 49ers

Loading more stories