Alex Boone appears set to step out of retirement and make a return to the NFL, although it won't be with the San Francisco 49ers.
Boone, who started 59 games as a guard with the 49ers from 2010 to 2015, is on the verge of rebooting his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, according to a report from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Pelissero tweeted Thursday afternoon that Boone was on his way to Seattle to go through testing for COVID-19 and was expected to sign with the Seahawks, barring any complications.
Boone retired from the NFL in 2017 after playing a season with the Arizona Cardinals but is still just 33 years old. He began training for an NFL comeback earlier this year and was given a tryout by the Baltimore Ravens last week before catching on with the Seahawks, where he'll reunite with former 49ers OL coach Mike Solari.
The 49ers first signed Boone in 2009 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Ohio State, where he started three seasons at offensive tackle and won first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior. Boone spent the 2009 season on the 49ers' practice squad, then played in one game in 2010 before appearing in all 16 games in 2011. In 2012, he moved into the starting lineup, where he remained until leaving the 49ers in free agency for a four-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
Boone was released from the Vikings in 2017 before moving on to play his final season with the Cardinals. He then spent some time doing some radio work in Minneapolis in 2019 before deciding to pursue a return to football.