Getty Former 49ers DE Kerry Hyder Jr.
Amid the excitement of the 49ers adding anther quality pass rusher, having snapped up ex-Broncos end Randy Gregory in a surprise trade on Friday, there is the downside—the 49ers had to let go of old pro Kerry Hyder, the team’s leader in sacks with 8.5 in the 2020 season, in a corresponding move.
Hyder left for Seattle after that 2020 season, but returned to the 49ers the previous two years and was expected to compete for the pass-rushing job on the side opposite Nick Bosa. He was a valued backup but did not beat out Clelin Ferrell and Drake Jackson for the job.
Hyder did appear in all four games for the 49ers, playing 59 snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. That’s 22% of the 49ers’ defensive plays.
Hyder was an undrafted free agent who managed to hook on with the Jets in 2015 and built an eight-year NFL career, still producing even after missing all of 2017 with a torn Achilles tendon. He was with the Lions in 2016 when he was recognized by media covering the team in Detroit as the “Media Friendly ‘Good Guy’ Award winner.”
His departure was acknowledged by star defensive lineman Arik Armstead on Friday, who wrote on Twitter/X, “Be excited about @RandyGregory_4. I’m hyped. He is going to be amazing for us. Also send gratitude to @KerryhyderJR. Led our team in sacks in 2020. Played DE/DT on way to NFC championship game in 2022.”
Be excited about @RandyGregory_4 . I’m hyped. He is going to be amazing for us.
Also send gratitude to @KerryhyderJR . Led our team in sacks in 2020. Played DE/DT on way to NFC championship game in 2022.
Gregory Will Join 49ers Monday
As for Gregory, coach Kyle Shanahan said that after an appearance in the Bay Area on Friday, Gregory was returning to Denver to gather his belongings and pack up his family, and would join the team on Monday.
But Shanahan felt good, he said, about the fit of Gregory into the defensive-line unit. He could wind up with a coveted job for a pass rusher—playing on the other side of Nick Bosa.
“Yeah, I think just it’s unique with our D-line that our style is hand in the ground and it’s attacking first and foremost,” he said, via 49ers Web Zone. “And there’s certain skill sets that guys have that always gives them the best advantage. When you have guys who have good get off speed and power their best advantage is to play in a scheme that allows them to do that every play, everywhere. You get to do it at times, but specifically in what we do, you get to do it every play.”
49ers D-Line Already NFL’s Best
No matter who has been opposite Bosa, the 49ers defensive line has been a powerhouse. The signing of Javon Hargrave has paid off in a big way, and along with Armstead and Bosa, the core of the 49ers’ front is the best in the league.
It’s only in the spot opposite Bosa that there has been uncertainty, though even there, the 49ers have not been bad. Hyder, though, was not going to be part of the long-term rotation.
At Pro Football Focus, the numbers show that the 49ers’ front is stacked. Bosa graded out through four weeks at 93.8 in 185 snaps, the highest rated edge rusher in the league, despite having missed all of training camp in a contract holdout. On the other side, edge rusher Drake Jackson, the team’s second-round pick last year, has been developing nicely and graded at 72.5, which ranks 35th out of 112 edge rushers in the NFL.
Jackson plays behind Clelin Ferrell (No. 56, with a 65.6 grade), for now, but Jackson plays more snaps, 139 for Jackson and 129 for Ferrell.
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49ers Release ‘Good Guy’ in Wake of Randy Gregory Trade