49ers 2021 ‘Who is?’ series: Can Jonas Griffith see a snap?

The 49ers originally signed Jonas Griffith as an undrafted free agent in 2020, waived him and then inked him again. So, does he play in 2021 at all?

The San Francisco 49ers made a lot of backend moves at linebacker during the offseason, including bringing aboard two veterans in Nathan Gerry and James Burgess Jr., while also signing a couple of undrafted free agents, Justin Hilliard and Elijah Sullivan.

Those four will be competing with another less-known returnee, Jonas Griffith, who initially signed with the Niners as a UDFA in 2020 out of Indiana State where he had 34 starts in 44 games over four years, recording 382 tackles, 28.5 of which came for a loss, 14 sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Not bad for a small-school program.

But Griffith failed to crack San Francisco’s 53-man roster his rookie season and eventually was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad in October of 2020 but only stayed there for a few days before rejoining the 49ers on Oct. 21 on the practice squad in the wake of moves intended to alleviate last year’s trade of linebacker Kwon Alexander to the New Orleans Saints.

The Niners signed Griffith to a reserve/futures contract during the offseason. And despite not seeing the field for a regular-season snap just yet, at least there’s an opportunity for him to do so in 2021.

Will Jonas Griffith latch on with 49ers in 2021?

This 2020 pre-roster scouting report on Griffith from Niners Nation was intriguing:

"To get a better idea of how Griffith played against top competition, you can watch this game against Louisville. He’s all over the place. Griffith had 11 tackles within the first minute of the video; he had two plays where he beat multiple blocks, one for a tackle for loss. Griffith is intriguing, to say the least.At his pro day, Griffith benched 225 pounds 27 times, jumped 36” in the vertical, jumped a 10’7” broad jump, ran a 4.62 40-yard dash, had a 4.34 20-yard short shuttle, and ran a 7.08 3-cone. When I watched him, I thought Griffith was a little tight when it came to changing directions, but those shuttle times are impressive. He’s an all-around athlete that you can run."

The athleticism seems undeniable, at least based on the collegiate tape and pro-day marks. How much of that has translated over into the pros is a big question mark, as there isn’t exactly any NFL game tape on him yet.

Read More: Ranking 49ers’ 5 most important backups entering 2021

Remember, no preseason last year led to no visually observed Griffith reps againt non-49ers opposition.

The Niners could take a flier on Griffith’s sheer athletic prowess, though, potentially as a special teams sleeper and someone who has a higher long-term upside than Gerry or Burgess.

Jonas Griffith no more than a 49ers’ camp body?

While San Francisco could be enticed by what Griffith has to offer, the sheer number of other players at the position will make it challenging for him to survive post-preseason roster cuts.

In addition to Burgess, Gerry, Sullivan and Hilliard, Griffith will have to compete with the presumed favorite for the 49ers’ No. 3 linebacker spot behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair.

We can probably assume the Niners keep four linebackers on their 53-man roster this season, and Warner and Greenlaw are assured two of those spots. If Al-Shaair is a favorite, Griffith will need to beat out four other players to hang around into Week 1.

This doesn’t seem too likely, barring an explosive training camp and/or preseason campaign from Griffith. Instead, his best chance might be to get back onto the practice squad as a primary reserve.

Or, if he impresses enough, Griffith could easily be auditioning for the 31 other teams, too.