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49ers Sign Austin Bryant to One Year Deal

Bryant, 26, is a former fourth-round draft pick who has dealt with injuries every season of his career.

Grant Cohn

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The 49ers just signed another defensive lineman.

This time it's former Detroit Lions defensive end Austin Bryant, according to The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Bryant joins Clelin Ferrell and Javon Hargrave as free agent defensive linemen the 49ers have signed this offseason.

Bryant, 26, is a former fourth-round draft pick who has dealt with injuries every season of his career. Last season, he missed nine games and recorded zero sacks, which is why he was available for a cheap, one-year deal. But in 2021, Bryant played in 14 games, played 436 snaps and recorded 4.5 sacks. So he might have some edge-rushing potential the 49ers can unlock. Or he might be another injury-prone player who rides the bench.

Since the start of free agency, the 49ers have somewhat rebuilt their defensive line. They let Charles Omenihu, Samson Ebukam and Jordan Willis each sign elsewhere, which is significant because those three accounted for 11.5 sacks last season on the 49ers. Will Bryant, Ferrell and Hargrave record more than 11.5 sacks next season?

Have the 49ers really improved their pass rush this offseason?

It seems like the pass rush isn't necessarily better or worse than last season. Right now, it seems like a wash. For the pass rush to improve, the 49ers will need a healthy season from Arik Armstead, who played in nine games last season and recorded zero sacks. And they'll need a breakout season from second-year defensive end Drake Jackson, who recorded three sacks in 15 games as a rookie.

Signing Bryant seems to show confidence in Jackson, because Bryant isn't a threat to take Jackson's playing time. Bryant isn't even a lock to make the team.

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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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