The San Francisco 49ers burned through a number of edge rushers last year after losing both Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams to ACL tears. One guy they brought back was Clelin Ferrell, a former first-round pick who played with San Francisco in 2023.
He provided some needed depth last season, but the Miami Dolphins just swooped in and signed him at the start of training camp, which could be a development the Niners come to regret.
Ferrell has never quite lived up to his reputation as an early first-round pick. He was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders and played there for four seasons until the Niners scooped him up in 2023. He started all 17 regular-season games but got injured ahead of the playoffs.
The former Clemson product bounced around with a few different teams after that and hasn’t really found a permanent home, but last year with San Francisco, he had four sacks in eight games.
For a unit that ranked dead last in the NFL in sacks, that’s not a bad number at all, and Ferrell tied the output of Bryce Huff who had the same number of sacks while playing in 15 games.
49ers may kick themselves for not re-signing Clelin Ferrell
The Niners could still use some more depth at edge rusher. Bosa is back from his ACL injury, but Williams is currently on the PUP list. Romello Height’s injury scare early in camp was just more evidence San Francisco could benefit from some more guys at edge rusher.
If the 49ers lose guys to injury, they could be down to Keion White, who was shot in the ankle earlier this year, and Sam Okuayinonu pretty quickly, which would not be great. They learned last year how important depth is, but apparently have not applied that lesson to edge rusher.
Perhaps the Niners are owed better injury luck this season, though. They get banged up pretty much every year, but one would think at some point they might have some better luck and at least go one season where they aren’t completely decimated by injury.
Ferrell is a solid player, and letting him go to another team feels kind of like how the 49ers moved on from Leonard Floyd after the 2024 season, even though he was a solid edge-rusher depth option. Obviously, it’s different since they cut Floyd even thought he was under contract, while Ferrell was a free agent, but the latter probably would have been affordable, so let’s hope this doesn’t come back to bite the Niners.
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