After hiring Brandon Staley as an assistant on his staff for the 2024 season, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is bringing in one of his former linebackers in free agency.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers have agreed to a one-year deal with Eric Kendricks to provide depth with Dre Greenlaw recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in the Super Bowl.
It’s yet another smaller move for a San Francisco team that entered the offseason without a lot of financial wiggle room. The reigning NFC champs are currently $6.4 million under the $255.4 million cap, which doesn’t yet include Kendricks’ salary.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Greenlaw had successful surgery on Feb. 15 and he’s expected to make a full recovery.
The injury occurred when Greenlaw was jogging onto the field for a defensive series in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs.
While there is optimism that Greenlaw will be back on the field during the 2024 season, it would seem unlikely he will be ready when the regular season begins.
Given how important both linebackers—Greenlaw and Fred Warner—to what San Francisco wants to do on defense, it would have been stunning if the team didn’t add at least one player at the position in free agency.
Staley, who coached Kendricks last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, was hired by the 49ers earlier this month. Nick Sorensen is taking over as defensive coordinator after Steve Wilks was fired at the end of the 2023 season.
Kendricks has been a tackling machine throughout his career. The 32-year-old has recorded at least 92 combined tackles in each of his first nine seasons, including 107 in eight consecutive years since 2016.
The 49ers could have a competition between Kendricks, Dee Winters and Jalen Graham during training camp to determine the other starting linebacker next to Warner. They could also go with a rotation based on matchups.
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