The San Francisco 49ers are seemingly in the midst of a defensive line overhaul, with Javon Hargrave and others possibly gone. There's natural tie to edge rusher Joey Bosa now that he has been released by the Los Angeles Chargers.
According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Niners are expected to target defensive tackle Jonathan Allen now that he has been released by the Washington Commanders. Washington was unable to find a trade partner for the two-time Pro Bowler over the course of this week, so it released him on Friday.
Allen was reportedly part of the wide receiver Deebo Samuel trade talks between the 49ers and the Commanders before Samuel was sent alone to the Commanders for a fifth-round pick. The $15.5 million base salary Allen was due for this year surely impacted including him in a bigger version of a cut-and-dry Samuel trade, and his trade market overall.
The 49ers having interest in Allen now that he's freely available is no surprise.
Jonathan Allen looks like a nice fit for the 49ers
Allen was limited to eight games last season by a partially torn pectoral, with 19 total tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks. He was a Pro Bowler in 2021 and 2022, with a slight dip in his numbers in 2023 before playing about half a season in the first year of Washington's new regime last year. Entering the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract, he was an easy cut for the Commanders after they gave him permission to seek a trade.
With Hargrave out for all but three games, and Arik Armstead departing last offseason, the 49ers had Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott as their primary defensive tackles in 2024 and the results were not good.
The 49ers finished 18th in the league against the run (124.6 yards allowed per game) last season, which was their lowest ranking there since 2017. They also surrendered the second-most rushing touchdowns in the league (24). They allowed five 100-yard rushers over the final seven games last season, after a running back hadn’t done that against them in their previous 55 games (h/t to Branch for that last note).
Allen's decline since his Pro Bowl years is a mild concern. But he's more accomplished than anyone the 49ers had on the interior defensive line at practically any point last season, and he can presumably be signed to a fairly cheap deal. There stands to be some other suitors, but the 49ers can and should be fairly aggressive to help address a huge weakness in their defense.
Read more from Niner Noise