The San Francisco 49ers have pass rush problem and need help in that area. They lost Bryce Huff in March when he announced his retirement. They also said goodbye to Robert Beal Jr., who signed with the Dolphins.
Even while they traded for Osa Odighizuwa to solidify their interior line, they remain thin at edge defender ahead of the draft. Well, they are addressing that deficiency by signing Bengals defensive end Cam Sample to a one-year deal.
He is coming in as depth and the Niners seem to think they will get more from him
In the past few weeks, the Niners have been making all kinds of moves. Adding Sample to their roster gives them some depth. But he comes to the Niners from Cincinnati as an injury story, having gone on IR after tearing his Achilles in training camp. As a result, he did not see any action during the 2024 season.
Cincinnati signed him for the 2025 season on a one-year deal. Whatever he offered Cincinnati during that period must not have been good enough for them because he is no longer part of the team.
Here are Sample's stats: 47 games played, 5 sacks, and 6 tackles for loss. At 26 years, it would cost San Francisco nothing more than minimum salary to get him, and that is how the Niners know he is just depth.
It is worth noting that there might be more in this player than we know yet if the defensive staff in San Francisco can unlock some things that Cincinnati failed to do.
He received PFF's award for the most valuable defensive lineman in college football coming out of Tulane Bengals. Injuries may have stopped him from showing his true talent.
Bosa anchors their pass rush and needs nothing from Sample. Thirty to forty snaps per week could make Sample a good buy for the team. At worst, they will be paying just for minimum salary for one season.
Time will tell if the Niners see something in the film that the Bengals overlooked in their system.