The San Francisco 49ers’ defense went through a lot of changes this offseason as several key veterans left in free agency, leaving head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch in a tough spot.
The 49ers did a good job trying to add young talent at all three levels of the defense in the draft, starting with Mykel Williams in the first round. The former Georgia Bulldog pass rusher will be a good addition off the edge, playing opposite Nick Bosa.
However, the 49ers need to add more firepower to their defensive line as they can’t depend on Bosa and a rookie to carry the pass rush. Luckily enough for San Francisco, an accomplished pass rusher hit the open market on Thursday.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Carolina Panthers released veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
The 32-year-old defender finished his first year with the Panthers after signing a two-year, $20 million deal last offseason. Last season in Carolina, Clowney had 46 combined tackles, 11 QB hits, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and four pass deflections.
It wasn’t an overly spectacular season by Clowney, who had 9.5 sacks in 2023 with the Ravens, but his 5.5 sacks were tied for first in Carolina and would be third on San Francisco’s defense last year.
Despite the lower sack number, Clowney might be worth taking a flier on if you are the 49ers’ brass and coaching staff. According to Pro Football Focus, the veteran edge rusher had a 73.2 pass rush grade (30th among 211 EDGEs) and a 63.4 run defense grade (84th).
Clowney still has some juice left in the tank and would be a significant upgrade over Yetur Gross-Matos and the other edge rushers on the 49ers roster. That said, Clowney isn’t the only EDGE on the open market.
DeMarcus Walker, Za’Darius Smith, Von Miller, and Matthew Judon are all available and could be potential options for the 49ers. That said, with their being options, the 49ers should not mess around, especially if they want to win the NFC West in 2024.