When he agreed to come back to the San Francisco 49ers as defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh knew what he was getting into in terms of what would be a mass exodus of talent on that side of the ball. Not that the Niners' defense was very good last season, but if Saleh can turn that depleted unit into something good, he will be a head coach again very soon.
It's fair to say no loss for the 49ers this offseason will be felt as much as the departure of linebacker Dre Greenlaw. A last-ditch, and reactionary, effort to keep him proved fruitless, as was easy to foresee.
When general manager John Lynch spoke to reporters at Stanford's pro day last month, he tried to talk himself into Dee Winters as Greenlaw's replacement.
"He’ll have an opportunity," Lynch said, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. "There’s still a lot of time between now and when we play. But he’s a guy we like. And he’s still growing as a player. Saleh’s here. And it’s been fun to have a new lens on things. He’s very excited with Dee and a lot of players."
There's a lot of projection involved in regarding Winters as a viable replacement for Greenlaw. Drafting someone who could do so is certainly possible, and almost likely.
Saleh could also advocate for someone he knows well to help fill the void.
49ers could consider reuniting Robert Saleh with key piece of his Jets' defenses
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report offered up one free agent who can help each NFL team, and for the Niners, it's a player who would reunite with Saleh:
"The 49ers lost several key contributors early in free agency, including linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Reloading the linebacker group should still be a priority."
"C.J. Mosley was limited to four games in 2024 by toe and neck injuries. He'll also turn 33 in June. However, he's a five-time Pro Bowler who spent time with the Jets under Robert Saleh—who returned to San Francisco as the defensive coordinator this offseason."
As Knox noted, Mosley missed a lot of last season and he's approaching his 33rd birthday. But he played all 17 games in each of the two previous seasons, and he played over 1,000 defensive snaps with more than 150 total tackles in each of Saleh's three full seasons as the New York Jets' head coach.
In 2023, Mosley was Pro Football Focus' sixth-highest graded off-ball linebacker. If he'd had enough snaps to qualify last year, his overall PFF grade (74.7) would have been 16th-best at the position and his run defense grade (81.6) would have been top-20 as well.
Counting on Mosley to be an every-down linebacker anymore might be foolish. But assuming he's healthy, he can certainly help a San Francisco run defense that was gashed regularly last season. The tie to Saleh adds to the potential fit. An endorsement (or lack thereof) from the 49ers' defensive coordinator could tilt things one way or the other as the secondary waves of free agency are looked at to fill voids.