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Kyle Shanahan is "Really Pumped" that the 49ers Signed Matt Hennessy

The 49ers haven't drafted a center since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch joined the organization in 2017.

Grant Cohn

Aug 9, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA;Philadelphia Eagles center Matt Hennessy (76) stands on the sidelines during the first half of a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Aug 9, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA;Philadelphia Eagles center Matt Hennessy (76) stands on the sidelines during the first half of a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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The 49ers just made a significant yet under-the-radar move.

They signed veteran center Matt Hennessy off the Falcons practice squad, and they signed him to a two-year deal. Which means he almost certainly will be on the 49ers' 53-man roster again next season.

On Thursday, I asked head coach Kyle Shanahan what he knows about Hennessy.

“I know that we liked him coming out of college," Shanahan said. "He's done a good job there in Atlanta. I was really pumped to get him in this situation at this time.”

It doesn't sound like the 49ers signed Hennessy to fill a roster spot for an injured player during two meaningless games to close out the season. It sounds like the 49ers signed him to be a backup next year and potentially develop into a starter.

Remember, the 49ers don't currently have a backup center. Jon Feliciano was supposed to back up Jake Brendel, the starter, but injuries prevented Feliciano from being activated off Injured Reserve and he likely will retire this offseason.

So the 49ers could draft a center in a few months, or they could sign one now. And it seems they chose Option B.

Hennessy was a third-round draft pick in 2020, so he has talent. But he injured his knee twice with the Falcons and hasn't been the same player since. The 49ers are taking a flier on him, presumably because they would prefer not to spend a third-round pick on a center in the upcoming draft.

The 49ers haven't drafted a center since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch joined the organization in 2017.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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