49ers sign pass rusher Blair to take load off Bosa

S.F. tenders Bourne, Breida on busy day

The 49ers signed backup defensive end Ronald Blair to a oneyear contract extension Tuesday, a league source said.

And somewhere defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is wildly celebrating.

Blair, 27, a smart and versatile pass rusher who has consistently inspired Saleh to sing his praises, will return after collecting 8.5 sacks in 25 games over the past two seasons while averaging 29.3 snaps a contest.

Last year, Blair appeared poised to land a multiyear deal and starting role with another team in free agency in 2020, but his openmarket value dipped when he tore his ACL in November.

With Blair in reserve, the 49ers felt far more comfortable taking rookie edge rusher Nick Bosa off the field in 2019. The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year played at least 80% of the snaps in five of the eight games in which Blair was sidelined. Bosa played 80% of the snaps in two of the seven games Blair finished.

“If you like winning, you like Ronnie Blair. If you don’t like winning, then you don’t like him,” Saleh said last year, adding: “… He can do no wrong in my book.”

Blair, a 2016 fifthround pick, is one of four selections made by former general manager Trent Baalke who has spent the past three seasons with the current regime.

One of those other players is free safety Jimmie Ward, who was retained Monday night when he signed a threeyear, $28.5 million extension with $13.5 million fully guaranteed.

On Tuesday, the 49ers also made a series of moves to address their offense.

Most notably, they placed secondround tenders on two restricted free agents: wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and running back Matt Breida.

By tendering them at a secondround level, the 49ers will pay both $3.259 million in 2020, if they don’t sign them to extensions. Another team could sign Bourne or Breida, but it would owe the 49ers a secondround pick if the 49ers didn’t match the offer.

The 49ers were expected to place a secondround tender on Bourne, but their commitment to Breida was surprising given the way he was phased out of the offense late in the season.

Breida averaged 3.3 carries in the final seven games and didn’t play an offensive snap in Super Bowl LIV. Still, the speedy 2017 undrafted free agent is one of three running backs with 300 carries to average at least 5 yards an attempt over the past three seasons.

Breida figures to remain part of a backfield that includes Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon.

On Tuesday, McKinnon, as expected, agreed to restructure a contract that was scheduled to pay him a $6.5 million base salary in 2020. A knee injury has sidelined McKinnon for each season since he signed a fouryear, $30 million contract in 2018.

McKinnon, who has undergone two knee surgeries, was medically cleared at the end of the 2019 season.