Many people across the NFL feel the San Francisco 49ers have done well so far this offseason. They signed veteran six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans and a younger veteran wideout in Christian Kirk, and they traded for defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa, who spent the previous five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
San Francisco also brought back outside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who had played his first six seasons with San Francisco before suiting up for the Denver Broncos last season. According to Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, the Niners may be best served reuniting with another defender who played for them very recently.
Knox named them as one of the best two fits, along with the Chicago Bears, for veteran pass rusher Leonard Floyd, who is still available on the free agent market.
“Pass-rusher Leonard Floyd has entered the “veteran mercenary” stage of his career,” Knox wrote. “However, the 33-year-old remains a disruptive defender who would make plenty of sense for a contender in need of edge help.
“This past season, Floyd logged 19 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 19 quarterback pressures, 11 QB hits, and five tackles for loss across 15 games with the Atlanta Falcons. Two of Floyd’s former employers would make sense for him in 2026.
“The aforementioned 49ers need pass-rushing help, and Floyd has provided it before. He spent the 2024 season in San Francisco and finished with 8.5 sacks, 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 21 quarterback pressures.”
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Pass rushing is generally considered the Niners’ biggest need, especially since they addressed their other big need by upgrading at the wide receiver spot. Nick Bosa is a game-wrecker, but he tore his ACL in Week 3 of this past season, and it may take him a little while to return to form. Right now, San Francisco doesn’t have another reliable pass rusher anywhere on its front seven, especially since it will be relying on a couple of unproven young prospects in Mykel Williams and CJ West.
Floyd isn’t the ideal candidate to fill that void. He’s 33 years of age and will turn 34 on Sept. 8, and he isn’t quite the player he was several years ago when he helped the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl championship. He recorded 3.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits and five tackles for loss last season with the Atlanta Falcons, and the Niners would surely prefer to bring in someone a little younger and more spry.
But perhaps he would be a decent stopgap solution, not to mention a decent mentor for West and Williams. The fact that he earned a Vince Lombardi Trophy not too long ago doesn’t hurt, as the Niners have been chasing one for quite some time.
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The storied franchise last won it all during the 1994 season, and while it has reached the Super Bowl three times in the last 14 seasons, it fell short each time. Members of the Niners Faithful are starving for a sixth world championship, especially after so many near-misses and heartbreaking losses during the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era.
Per David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard, the 49ers currently have $16.7 million of salary cap space.
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