49ers Swipe OL from Falcons' Practice Squad

The Atlanta Falcons lost a former starting center Thursday, as the San Francisco 49ers signed Matt Hennessy to their practice squad.

The San Francisco 49ers signed former Atlanta Falcons center Matt Hennessy to their active roster Thursday. / Pool Photo-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons lost veteran offensive line depth earlier this week.

Center Matt Hennessy, who played in four games for Atlanta this season as a reserve interior lineman and special teams piece, was signed off the team's practice squad Thursday by the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday he's liked Hennessy since college. The Falcons drafted Hennessy in the third round in 2019.

"He’s done a good job there in Atlanta," Shanahan said. "I was really pumped to get him in this situation at this time."

Hennessy, a third-round pick by the Falcons in 2020, was the team's starting center in 2021 before losing the role to Drew Dalman. He played in 41 games in his initial three seasons with Atlanta, drawing two starts in 2020 and three more in 2022.

The 6-foot-3, 307-pound Hennessy suffered a knee injury during training camp in 2023 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve in the middle of August. He spent the 2024 offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles before being released at the end of the preseason.

Chris Foerster, the 49ers' offensive line coach and run game coordinator, said San Francisco viewed Hennessy as a good fit for its system during the pre-draft process in 2019 and had high hopes for his future.

"They took him in Atlanta, he was a good fit for them, but then they drafted another good fit, which was Dalman from Stanford," Foerster said Friday. "And then they put him at center, they moved Matt to guard. Matt’s more of a center than a guard."

Then, Hennessy's career twisted, with his latest stop being a stint in the Bay Area -- for at least the final two weeks of the regular season.

"It’s really exciting and because of the putting guys on IR, we’re able to claim -- you’re not necessarily getting guys off waivers that are tryout players, you’re getting draft picks," Foerster said. "You’re getting some guys in here that are legitimate. They were drafted players with high stock in the draft.

"So, Matt’s been a guy we’ve always liked, is a good fit for us. And meeting him, I have not been disappointed at all. He is a good fit."