5 players 49ers won’t bring back after final 2022 season
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers EDGE Samson Ebukam
Like Dre Greenlaw, and arguably a stronger candidate to be so, it’s highly doubtful San Francisco wants to keep EDGE Samson Ebukam on the roster beyond 2022.
One of the 49ers bigger free-agent pickups in 2021, Ebukam was supposed to provide that perfect complementary pass rush opposite fellow EDGE Nick Bosa last season, signing a two-year, $12 million deal.
Yet Ebukam struggled mightily over the first half of the season, only finishing on a relatively decent note by posting 4.5 sacks.
Not great, and those numbers certainly aren’t indicative of him guaranteed to stick around on the Niners roster when he’s scheduled to make $8.25 million in 2022.
Even if San Francisco elects to retain Ebukam as a rotational pass-rusher this season, it’ll likely look to supplement its pass-rushing depth via this year’s NFL Draft, which is chock full of pass-rushers.
One of those could push Ebukam off the roster altogether in 2022, and it’s highly doubtful the 49ers would even sniff the idea of re-signing him once his current contract comes to a close.