HEADLINES

Shae Wyatt

49ers Sign DL Darryl Johnson

June 6th, 2023 at 6:20pm CST by Ben Levine

The 49ers have added a veteran defensive lineman. Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Darryl Johnson has signed a one-year deal with the 49ers. To make room on the roster, the team waived wideout Shae Wyatt.

Johnson, a former seventh-round pick out of North Carolina A&T, got into 31 games with the Bills through his first two seasons in the NFL. He was traded to the Panthers prior to the 2021 campaign, but a hamstring injury limited him to only three games.

He was snagged off waivers by the Seahawks at the end of the 2022 preseason. He collected four tackles in four games (one start) for Seattle before a foot injury ended his season early.

The 49ers have been busy adding to the defensive line this offseason. They selected USC defensive end Drake Jackson in the second round, and they gave veteran Javon Hargrave a four-year, $84MM contract. Despite adding top-end depth to a defensive line that already includes Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, the 49ers could still keep Johnson around as a back-of-the-depth-chart option and special teamer.

Wyatt went undrafted before signing with the 49ers back in May. The receiver had a standout season at Tulane in 2022, finishing with 35 receptions for 692 yards and seven touchdowns.

49ers Sign 12 UDFAs

May 4th, 2023 at 10:32am CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers are the latest team to announce their undrafted free agent class. Here are the 12 signees now on San Francisco’s 90-man roster:

The 49ers signed Winstead not long after he tweeted no team had extended him a UDFA offer or invited him to a rookie minicamp. After transferring from Toledo, Winstead posted a 1,085-yard season at East Carolina last year. That total more than doubled the 6-foot-3 receiver’s previous single-season best mark. He will attempt to stick with the 49ers. While the NFL has not revealed if the 16-man practice squad limit will remain in place for a fourth season, it represents a good bet teams will still have 69 spots (53 active roster, 16 P-squad) to use in 2023.

Fisher received a $130K guarantee to sign, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. The 6-foot-4 lineman lined up at right tackle at Division II Shepherd from 2019-22, earning All-American acclaim. He also impressed at his pro day, performing 40 bench-press reps of 225 pounds. That bettered this year’s top O-lineman Combine mark (38). Fisher is also coming off a broken hand sustained during the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

A Florida State transfer, Laborn is coming off a 1,513-yard rushing season at Marshall. Manning made a whopping 60 starts at Hawaii. Working as a tackle, Manning earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors last season. Young started 54 games for the Scarlet Knights; Jamison made 40 starts for the Longhorns. Spencer finished last season as a first-team Division I-FCS All-American, tallying nine sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles for the FCS powerhouse program.

Awatt and Laborn join a 49ers team that did not draft a running back but still carries their top backups — Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price — from last season. Christian McCaffrey‘s Panthers-constructed extension runs through 2025.

Every member of San Francisco’s UDFA class was born in the 1990s. Teams’ UDFA classes are flooded with players who used the additional eligibility year that came about because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but five members of this contingent will be at least 25 by year’s end. Awatt and Fisher will turn 26 as rookies.