49ers free agency: Grading each opening-wave move by John Lynch
By Peter Panacy
John Lynch, 49ers not re-signing Kentavius Street
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive Tackle. Kentavius Street. 15. New Orleans Saints. B. player
The 49ers made up their mind about defensive tackle Kentavius Street, electing not to place a restricted free-agent tender on him and allowing him to test the open market. If the Niners truly wanted him back, even a first-right of refusal could have been applied.
Alas, Street is off to join the New Orleans Saints now, and it appears as if San Francisco didn’t have any interest in retaining him.
There isn’t too much wrong about this non-deal, at least from the 49ers’ vantage point. Street, their fourth-round pick from the 2018 NFL Draft, was a questionable selection after he tore his ACL during his pro day, effectively meaning he had to redshirt his rookie year and only marginally got involved in the action in 2019.
An injury-depleted Niners defensive line opened up more opportunities for Street in 2020, and he subsequently ended up playing a career-high 17 games in 2021, recording the first three sacks of his career.
While a nice rotational player and depth piece, Street isn’t someone San Francisco wanted to prioritize, and it’s likely that kind of depth can be addressed elsewhere.
Probably best for both parties to move on.