6 pending free agents 49ers shouldn’t bother re-signing
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Defensive Tackle D.J. Jones
This one is a bit more difficult.
In an ideal world, the Niners would probably like to retain their sixth-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft, nose tackle D.J. Jones, particularly after he showed some value in both the run-stopping department as well as in the pass rush. 1-technique players of that caliber aren’t always easy to find.
But Jones has also dealt with some chronic ankle injuries the past two seasons, which forced him out of five regular-season games and the playoffs in 2019 and to miss two games in 2020, too. That’s not a terrible injury history, but it’s something to consider.
It would be one thing if San Francisco didn’t have an adequate replacement for Jones. But even if it didn’t, run-stuffing defensive tackles for the interior generally can be easy to find on the open market for relatively cheap costs.
Yet the 49ers do have a likable option to replace Jones, two-year pro Kevin Givens, who rose to the occasion amid the widespread injuries the Niners suffered within their defensive line over the course of the year.
Givens managed an impressive 19 tackles, five of which were for a loss, along with three quarterback hits and a sack over 37 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
San Francisco should let Jones walk and go with the younger, cheaper Givens instead.