S.F. adds Browns defensive tackle Elliott
The San Francisco 49ers took the first step to bolster the middle of their front four Tuesday by agreeing to terms with Browns defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, 26, on a two-year, $10 million contract, NFL Network reported.
The addition of Elliott comes with the 49ers expected to release defensive tackle Arik Armstead, 30, after their four-time team captain declined their proposed reduction in his $17.4 million base salary in 2024. Elliott is a likely replacement for Armstead and will be paired with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave on the 49ers’ remade defensive line. The 49ers agreed to terms with edge rushers Leonard Floyd (Bills) and Yetur Gross-Matos (Panthers) on Monday.
The 6-foot-4, 303-pound Elliott is a 2020 thirdround pick from Missouri who had 57 tackles and 4.5 sacks the past two seasons while playing in all 34 games (31 starts) for Cleveland. Elliott has played in 66 of 67 career games, collecting 98 tackles and five sacks.
The 49ers still need to add more interior defensive linemen in free agency and the draft. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw agreed to terms with the Jets on Monday, and Kevin Givens and Sebastian Joseph-Day are unrestricted free agents. Without Armstead, Hargrave and Elliott are their
only interior linemen who played more than 52 snaps last season.
The additions of GrossMatos and Floyd signal that the 49ers won’t retain pass rushers Chase Young and Randy Gregory, unrestricted free agents who were acquired in trades in October.
The 49ers are hoping to further develop Gross-Matos, 26, who possesses ideal size (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) and length (347⁄8-inch arms). Gross-Matos, who agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal Monday, didn’t fully realize expectations in his four seasons with the Panthers, who selected him in the second round in 2020. Gross-Matos had a career-high 4.5 sacks in 12 games last season while
playing 466 snaps. He has 13 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 55 career games.
The 49ers hosted GrossMatos on a pre-draft visit before he was selected No. 38 overall in 2020.
The 49ers’ other pass rushers under contract are Drake Jackson and Robert Beal. Jackson, a 2022 second-round pick, has six sacks in 23 games, and his lack of production partly prompted last year’s deals for Young and Gregory. Beal, a 2023 fifth-round pick, had one sack in four games a rookie.
Kinlaw, the 49ers’ 2020 first-round pick whose four-season tenure included five sacks and myriad knee issues, agreed to a one-year deal, ESPN reported.
Kinlaw, 26, will reconnect with Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in his rookie season.
The 49ers selected Kinlaw with the 14th overall pick with hopes he could assume the spot of All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who had been traded to the Colts a month earlier. However, Kinlaw, who was sidelined at his combine by knee tendinitis, missed 26 of 50 games in his first three seasons due to knee injuries that required multiple surgeries.
Darnold heads to Vikings: Quarterback Brock Purdy will have a new backup in 2024.
That became official when QB Sam Darnold, the 49ers’ second-stringer last season, agreed to terms on a one-year, $10 million deal with the Vikings, NFL Network reported. Darnold, 26, will have a chance to compete for a starting spot with Minnesota, which had its longtime starter, Kirk Cousins, agree to a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons on Monday.
In other words, Darnold’s decision last year to take less money from other suitors in free agency and sign a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers appeared to pay off. Darnold joined the 49ers six days after Purdy underwent elbow surgery, which made his season-opening availability uncertain.
As it turned out, Darnold didn’t make a start until a meaningless regularseason finale against the Rams. However, his oneseason reboot with the 49ers had the desired effect after the third overall pick in 2018 draft had spent five mostly forgettable seasons with the Jets and Panthers: Darnold earned a raise of more than $5 million from Minnesota and an opportunity to show he’s still starter material.
Meanwhile, Darnold’s exit increases the chances that Brandon Allen, 31, could assume his role as Purdy’s caddy in 2024. Allen agreed to a one-year deal Monday to stay with the 49ers after serving as the third-string QB last year and not playing a snap. Allen, who has nine career starts, was Joe Burrow’s
backup with the Bengals for three seasons before signing with the 49ers in May.
With Purdy and Allen their only QBs under contract, the 49ers will add at least one more player to the position in free agency or the draft.
Darnold completed 28 of 46 passes for 297 yards with two touchdowns and an interception (85.1 passer rating) last season. In his lone start, a 22-21 loss to the Rams in Week 18 in which the 49ers’ frontline offensive starters played sparingly, he completed 16 of 26 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Odum extended: The 49ers signed safety and All-Pro special-teams player George Odum, 30, to a two-year extension with a maximum value of $10 million that will keep him under contract with through the 2026 season.
Despite missing six games last season with a biceps injury, Odum leads the NFL with 32 specialteams tackles since he signed with the 49ers in 2022. Odum was a secondteam All-Pro in his first season with the 49ers when he led the league 21 special-teams tackles. Odum was a first-team AllPro with the Colts in 2020.
Odum’s 75 special-teams stops since entering the NFL in 2018 are the most in the league over that span.