Help on the way for 49ers defensive front
The 49ers’ defensive front, once a symbol of depth and promise, continues to scramble for reinforcements amid a winless start.
Datone Jones, a 2013 first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, agreed to a deal Monday to join the 49ers, NFL Network reported.
The 49ers (0-7) allowed 501 yards and did not record a sack Sunday in falling, 40-10, to the Dallas Cowboys. Forced to start on the 49ers defensive front was Leger Douzable, who signed last week along with fellow lineman Tony McDaniel after 2015 top pick Arik Armstead went on injured reserve with a fractured hand.
Jones’ reported deal was not immediately confirmed Monday by the 49ers. He played the past four seasons with the Packers before splitting time with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions this season. Jones (6-foot-2, 288 pounds) got released off the Vikings injured-reserve list following a training camp shoulder injury, and he spent a week with the Lions until his release last Wednesday.
As the 49ers prepare for Sunday’s visit to Philadelphia and their fourth road game in five weeks, their ever-changing defense is expected to have linebacker Reuben Foster available. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that exams on Foster’s injured ribs showed no fracture.
That defense, however, could not stop the Cowboys and now ranks among the league’s worst. In fact, the 49ers are last in thirddown efficiency (49.5 percent) and they’ve allowed the most first downs.
On Sunday, they needed Douzable to play 47 of 75 snaps while McDaniel got in 25 as a reserve end along with Xavier Cooper’s 26. DeForest Buckner and Solomon Thomas, their top picks the previous two years, started, and while Buckner had a decent output (five tackles, two pass breakups, one quarterback hit), Thomas had just one tackle.
Dak Prescott produced a season-high 134.0 passer rating, completing 16-of25 passes for 234 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 147 yards against a defensive front that didn’t get much out of its edge rushers, those being Thomas, Douzable, Eli Harold (31), Elvis Dumervil (15 snaps), and Dekoda Watson (nine). Aaron Lynch (calf) did not play.
• C.J. Beathard got an early start on his film review after losing his starting debut.
“Just talking with him through text last night, I could tell he was watching it a ton last night, having a bunch of questions even before we got in today,” Shanahan said. “It’s always fun when you can get with a guy and you feel you have a chance to help him get better. I enjoy meeting with him because he asks good questions and I think he learns from every rep that he gets.”
Beathard lost two fumbles among five sacks, and he completed 22-of-38 passes for 235 yards with no touchdown passes or interceptions. He scored the 49ers’ only touchdown on a fourth-quarter, 4-yard run.
• Right guard Brandon Fusco (biceps) is questionable this week, so Zane Beadles and Erik Magnuson will compete for time at the guard position along with Fusco if he’s able to practice this week, Shanahan said.
• Right tackle Trent Brown is in the post-concussion protocol after his second-half injury.
• Nickel back K’Waun Williams (quadriceps) likely will not play this week, and that could prompt the 49ers to re-sign cornerback Leon Hall.