The 49ers Sign Sebastian Joseph-Day

Joseph-Day isn't much of a pass rusher, but he's a quality run defender, which makes him a good replacement for Arik Armstead.

Finally, the 49ers have a replacement for Arik Armstead.

On Tuesday, the 49ers signed veteran defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, according to Jason McCourty of The NFL Network. Joseph-Day is only 28-years old. he's a former captain and he has started 68 games in the NFL, including 14 this season for the Chargers, who inexplicably released him four days ago. The Chargers also recently fired their head coach, so who knows what they're doing?

Whatever the Chargers' motivation for releasing Joseph-Day, the 49ers benefit, because now they have a quality starting-caliber defensive tackle who's stout against the run and can start in place of Arik Armstead until he returns from plantar fasciitis in his foot, whenever that might be. It's possible he could miss the rest of the regular season. It seems unlikely that Joseph-Day would sign with the 49ers to be a backup, considering he has been a starter his entire career and likely had interest from other teams before signing with the 49ers. Maybe he knows more about Armstead's injury than we do.

While Armstead has been out, the 49ers have been starting defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, and he has played well. But this season, he's better suited to come off the bench and play 20 to 25 snaps per game than to start and play more than 45 snaps. Signing Sebastian-Day allows Kinlaw to return to his rotational role which has been so good for him.

Joseph-Day isn't much of a pass rusher, but he's a quality run defender, which makes him a good replacement for Armstead.