The San Francisco 49ers are giving their defensive line a makeover. While their front four could look a lot different next season, they were reportedly interested in a reunion with a familiar face in nose tackle D.J. Jones.
This reporting came via 49ers beat reporter Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. A reunion would've made sense in light of some of the recent moves San Francisco has made. The 49ers recently released defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and have also released defensive tackle Maliek Collins.
That means that the Niners definitely have some spots open on their depth chart at nose tackle. Hargrave and Collins were the two starters at that position at the begining of last season, so it's clear San Francisco is looking to start from scratch with a defensive line that ranked 29th in the NFL when it came to run defense last season.
Jones was drafted by the 49ers in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He did not do too much for San Francisco his first few seasons, but by his final year with the Niners, he started all 17 games and recorded 56 combined tackles along with two sacks.
He departed in free agency following that season, signing with the Denver Broncos. Jones was a solid contributor in Denver, playing in at least 15 games in each of his three seasons and being a solid run stopper in the middle of the defensive line.
Unfortunately for the purposes of a reunion, Denver isn't letting Jones go anywhere:
The #Broncos are close to a deal for DT D.J. Jones at around $13M per year, per source. Denver trying to keep core piece before free agency. pic.twitter.com/7OwPLoxqUc
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 10, 2025
San Francisco could've definitely use a player like Jones as they try to get back to its DNA as a team that can shut down the run game of their opponents. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is back with the Niners and he coached Jones for his first four NFL seasons, which could have enticed Jones to come back to the team that drafted him.
With it sounding more and more like CEO Jed York wants the Niners to tighten the belt financially this offseason, a bargain player like Jones seemed like a perfect target for the front office.
Denver's $13 million per-year offer keeps that from happening, though, and the 49ers' search will continue elsewhere.