Fox Sports made it a major point to illustrate just how banged up the San Francisco 49ers defensive line was amid the Week 3 broadcast between the Niners and the Arizona Cardinals.
Fortunately, it appears as if help is on the way.
At the end of San Francisco's 36-30 victory, reports started to come in veteran defensive end Matt Judon was intending to sign with the 49ers on Monday. He effectively announced it himself in the video below:
Matthew Judon is expected to sign with the 49ers on Monday. The 4x Pro Bowler reunites with former Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris, who is now Defensive Coordinator for San Francisco. With injuries piling up, Judon looks forward to pass rushing & playing a high level of football pic.twitter.com/Eatty1Vg3J
— Arabia ⛈️ (@ALL32NFL_) September 27, 2026
"With all of the injuries piling up over there, I think I can just come in and help until some of those guys get back," Judon said.
It couldn't come a moment too soon for a depleted Niners squad already dealing with a slew of injuries after just three weeks.
49ers probably need Matt Judon more than he needs them
San Francisco already was without reserve defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (foot), who suffered his injury just ahead of the Week 1 clash in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams.
But, the headlining injury was All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa suffering a calf injury during practice leading up to Week 3's showdown. The 49ers are anticipating Bosa will miss about a month, and they're even running out of spots on injured reserve to designate returns, meaning Bosa likely spends his absence as a weekly inactive.
Meanwhile, second-year defensive end Mykel Williams is still on the injury list amid his recovery from last year's torn ACL.
Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Judon gets to play again under coordinator Raheem Morris, with whom he joined forces with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024. But the four-time Pro Bowler made a name for himself playing with the Baltimore Ravens from 2016 through 2020.
The 10-year veteran has 72 sacks to his name, and the sack-deficient Niners hope he can at least bring a few of those to the Bay Area over the next few weeks.
San Francisco certainly could use it.
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