49ers add Hartsfield, a DB and ... running back?
The San Francisco 49ers have signed Myles Hartsfield, a jack-of-alltrades defensive back who has even played running back in the NFL, to a oneyear contract, a league source said.
Hartsfield, 25, a 2020 undrafted free agent from Mississippi who spent his first three seasons with the Panthers, lined up at safety, slot cornerback, outside corner and was a core special-teams player with Carolina, for whom he played in 41 games (19 starts). Hartsfield played for new 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks in 2022.
The 49ers are expecting Hartsfield (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) to play safety and slot cornerback, his primary positions with the Panthers. Hartsfield, who has totaled 118 tackles, seven pass breakups, one sack and no interceptions, allowed a career-worst 120.8 passer rating on the 49 passes on which he was targeted last year.
The Panthers did not offer Hartsfield a restricted free agent tender, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The 49ers added Hartsfield a day after backup safety Tarvarius Moore, a core special-teams player, signed with the Green Bay Packers. Versatile defensive back Jimmie Ward, who had played every position in the secondary except for strong safety, signed with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.
Hartsfield and George Odum are the top backup safeties on the roster behind Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson. Hartsfield and Samuel Womack are the top reserve options at slot cornerback behind Isaiah Oliver, who signed a twoyear contract Thursday.
Hartsfield split time between defense and running back in training camp as a rookie. After playing only special teams in his first six games in 2020, he debuted as a backup running back in a 27-24 loss to the Saints. Hartsfield, who hadn’t had a carry since high school, had two carries for 2 yards while playing the only four offensive snaps of his career.
“I thought they were blowing smoke at first,” Hartsfield told the team website in 2021. “But I get to the hotel the night before the game, and I’m looking at the first 15 (play) script, and I’m in there, it’s like, ‘What’s going on? They’re really going to give me the ball.’
“Then, as soon as I got hit, it’s like, ‘OK, this is why I play defense.’ But I hadn’t done it in five years, so my two carries for 2 yards (was) like living the dream.”