4 former SF 49ers players who could return in 2021
By Peter Panacy
These four free agents who were once with the SF 49ers could return to San Francisco in 2021.
The SF 49ers have nearly 40 players poised to hit one form of NFL free agency or another in 2021, and it’s going to be tough for general manager John Lynch and Co. to re-sign the bulk of them considering the Niners have just under $11.8 million in available cap space this offseason, per Over the Cap.
A number of those pending free agents are big-name players, too. While the eventual decisions in free agency are yet to be determined, it’s likely San Francisco is going to have to get much cheaper at every turn to ensure some sort of decent roster carryover.
It could mean, however, the SF 49ers end up looking towards some of their own former players on the free-agent market, partially because some of them have some connection with the current front office while others simply might be cheaper options than those the Niners may otherwise like to re-sign.
Whether they be for depth or a potential starting role in 2021, perhaps these four former San Francisco players who are now free agents find themselves reuniting with the SF 49ers this offseason.
No. 4: Defensive Tackle Damontre Moore, Seattle Seahawks
The Niners flirted a bit with journeyman defensive tackle Damontre Moore quite a bit in 2019, having him on their preseason roster before he failed to make the Week 1 cut that season amid a deep and talented defensive line.
Moore got into the fray late in the year before suffering a season-ending knee injury, and the thought was his depth services wouldn’t be needed in 2020.
But San Francisco’s D-line depth is going to look awfully different in 2021, even on the interior. Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, coming off an ACL tear of his own, is a pending free agent. So is nose tackle D.J. Jones. The SF 49ers’ leading sack specialist last season, EDGE Kerry Hyder, is also poised to hit the free-agent market and might be too expensive to re-sign after a career-best 8.5 sacks.
Yes, depth will be needed. And even though the Niners bid farewell to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the NY Jets’ head-coaching void, the switch over to Saleh’s replacement, DeMeco Ryans, should make for a seamless transition.
It’s one Moore could help out with as a key depth piece on the cheap.