The San Francisco 49ers‘ ongoing push to upgrade their dormant pass rush continued Wednesday.
The Niners signed Clelin Ferrell to their practice squad while also acquiring fellow EDGE rusher Keion White from the New England Patriots.
The 49ers rank tied for 30th in the NFL in sacks (9), which is part of why they rank 22nd in the NFL in passing-yards against per game (229.3). Ferrell is a familiar face, since he had 3.5 sacks and six tackles for loss while starting all 17 games for the Niners in 2023.
White, a second-round pick of the Patriots in the 2023 draft, does not have a sack this season but had five for New England last season.
San Francisco (5-3) is somehow still sitting just a half-game back of the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams with the tiebreaker over each thanks to its 3-0 record against divisional opposition.
The Niners will take on the New York Giants (2-6) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Kyle Shanahan ‘Loves’ Having Clelin Ferrell Back On The 49ers
Despite being chosen fourth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, Ferrell has bounced around throughout his career.
He’s played for five teams, including one game for the Los Angeles Chargers this year, and has not been super-productive. Ferrell has just 17 sacks in 90 NFL games.
Still, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan “loves” having Ferrell back in the mix, especially given San Francisco’s inability to upset opposing passers.
“I love the chance to get [Ferrell] back, having a guy like that be available,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “We loved having Cle here back in ’23, and I’m glad he got back here.”
Bryce Huff (4.0) and Nick Bosa (2.0) are the only players on the 49ers with multiple sacks this season, and Bosa is out for the season after tearing his ACL in the 49ers’ Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers have just two sacks for minus-10 yards in their past three games, a major reason why they are 1-2 in their past three games while allowing at least 26 points in each of their losses.
The 49ers Added Depth To Their Pass Rushers To Support Their Rookies
Part of signing Ferrell, and trading for White, is to give support to some of San Francisco’s rookies, especially 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams.
“They’ve kind of exceeded expectations to tell you the truth,” Shanahan said of his rookies on defense, which include Williams, second-round pick Alfred Collins and fourth-round pick C.J. West. “We knew we were going to throw them out there a lot, but we thought we’d have more other guys to help bring them along. Losing some of those guys [to injury] has been tough.”
Shanahan noted Williams’ lost time due to a hyperextended knee in training camp, which further set him back. Yet, the No. 11 pick from Georgia has four tackles for loss, tied for second-most on the team behind Huff.
“For him to battle throughout this whole year and missing training camp has been real impressive,” Shanahan said.
But he credited the rookies for their ability to step up.
“It’s been awesome for those guys to battle each week and be able to show up and play,” Shanahan said. “It’d be really hard without them.”
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