Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins, Yetur Gross-Matos and Jordan Elliott are in. Arik Armstead, Clelin Ferrell, Chase Young, Javon Kinlaw and Randy Gregory are on their way out.
So what to make of the San Francisco 49ers’ opening salvo in free agency and the most cataclysmic defensive line shuffle in years?
The line probably isn’t quite as good as the vaunted 2019 unit that included DeForest Buckner and, at the start of the season at least, an effective Dee Ford. But it’s certainly better than the one that began the 2023 season in Pittsburgh and arguably better than the tweaked version that ended the season in the Super Bowl. In Floyd, San Francisco has a more intense, more consistent No. 2 edge rusher (more on that below) and the unit also should be better against the run.
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The 49ers struggled in that regard, particularly in the second half of the season when Armstead either was out of action or was playing with a torn meniscus in his knee. All four newcomers, especially Elliott, are good against the run,
Here’s how the 49ers will look on the defensive line after physicals are complete and deals are signed. The team usually keeps 10 linemen on the 53-man roster and has eight in uniform on game days. Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek divides the units into Alpha, Bravo and Turbo (pass rush):
- Alpha: Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Collins, Floyd
- Bravo: Gross-Matos, Kevin Givens, Elliott, Drake Jackson or Robert Beal Jr.
- Turbo: Bosa, Hargrave, Gross-Matos, Floyd
More free agency notes and thoughts:
• The 49ers are sending a seventh-round pick, No. 232, to the Houston Texans as part of Wednesday’s trade for Collins. A day earlier, it seemed as if the 49ers and Texans had a player-for-player deal in place — Armstead for Collins — but it fell apart after the Texans agreed to terms with edge rusher Danielle Hunter, per a source briefed on the situation. The 49ers instead cut Armstead on Wednesday. Armstead’s suitors are expected to include the Texans, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans.
GO DEEPER49ers release DT Arik ArmsteadLeague observers don’t think Collins, a third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, is quite the player Armstead is. But he’s two years younger (28), is roughly $10 million cheaper than what Armstead was going to cost and ought to hit the ground running in San Francisco considering he played in a similar system last year under Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 49ers like defensive linemen who get off the line of scrimmage quickly. Back in 2016, a 311-pound Collins ran his 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 5.02 seconds. The only 300-plus-pounder with a better time there was Hargrave at 4.93 seconds.
• “Painfully thin” with a “gangly frame.” That was a prominent part of Floyd’s pre-draft profile in 2016. Yes, the Georgia outside linebacker moved exceptionally well and had intriguing length. But his lean physique reminded evaluators of a swimmer’s build, and there were doubts not only about how well Leonard would hold up in the running game but how he’d hold up overall.
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As it turns out, neither has been an issue. Floyd has tackled well and has been tough against the run. And he hasn’t missed a game since 2017 despite playing more than 5,000 defensive snaps — a huge number — over the past six seasons. Durability has been a theme with the 49ers’ recent acquisitions. Another defensive lineman, Elliott, has appeared in 66 of 67 possible games since 2020.
Leonard Floyd has exceeded his pre-draft scouting report that had concerns with his ability to hold up physically in the NFL. (Harry How / Getty Images)
• An NFL official familiar with Floyd described his pass-rush ability as “good, not great” and noted that a lot of his wins are due to relentless effort more than pass-rush skills.
Still, Floyd finished with at least nine sacks in each of the last four seasons. If he hits that number in 2024, it would be a big win for the 49ers, who have struggled to find a consistent bookend for Bosa. The most sacks his defensive end counterpart have tallied was Ford’s 6 1/2 sacks in 2019. In 2023, the leader in that category was Ferrell with a modest 3 1/2 sacks. (Kerry Hyder finished with 8 1/2 sacks in 2020, a year in which Bosa was lost for the season in Week 2.)
More than that, “relentless effort” is exactly what the 49ers are seeking at the position after watching some of their defensive linemen jog around the field in two playoff games in January.
“He’s going to go until exhaustion,” then-Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said of Floyd in this 2021 story. “You talk about defensive linemen rushing until their hearts collapse. This guy, he goes hard all the time — every time.”
GO DEEPER49ers, Leonard Floyd agree to 2-year deal: Source• Floyd also has a reputation for taking younger players under his wing, something the 49ers would like to see happen with Jackson, 22, and Beal, 24. Floyd’s presence might be particularly beneficial to Beal considering they both played outside linebacker at Georgia. (Both grew up in Georgia.) Floyd was an outside linebacker with the Chicago Bears and Rams before moving to defensive end last season with the Bills.
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“He’s got a way about him that people respond to within his own position group,” new 49ers assistant Brandon Staley, who coached Floyd with the Bears and Rams, said during the 2020 season. “Those guys, they look up to him and he’s just so consistent. We talk about Aaron (Donald)’s consistency and how rare it is, and Leonard, you can say the same thing about Leonard. The way he is a professional and the way he performs each and every day.”
• Another newcomer to the defensive line, Gross-Matos, has been characterized as an edge player. But he has a similar physique to former 49er Charles Omenihu and, like Omenihu, can line up inside as needed. According to Pro Football Focus, nine of Gross-Matos’ 13 career sacks with the Carolina Panthers came from the edge. The other four came when he was lined up like a defensive tackle.
• The 49ers expected to add linebacker Eric Kendricks, 32, because they’re not sure if starting weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw will be ready for the start of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl. Greenlaw had surgery last month, there were no complications and there’s a chance he could be ready by early September.
That, however, would be an aggressive recovery, and the 49ers might have felt more comfortable having Kendricks at the weakside spot early in the season and then moving him to the strongside spot when Greenlaw is fully recovered. However, Kendricks had a late change of heart after agreeing to join the 49ers and will instead sign a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, a team source confirmed to The Athletic.
• Burks (unsigned), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (unsigned), Charlie Woerner (signing with the Atlanta Falcons) and Ray-Ray McCloud III (unsigned) played a combined 886 special teams snaps last season.
The 49ers will get their top special teams player, George Odum, back in 2024. In fact, the team extended Odum’s contract through the 2026 season. But they’ll need a group of young players that includes linebackers Dee Winters and Jalen Graham, tight end Brayden Willis, running back Jordan Mason and cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. to take a step forward on their coverage units. And if they don’t re-sign McCloud, they’ll need to add a return man.
(Top photo of Arik Armstead: Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)
