Getty Josh Jacobs #28 of the Las Vegas Raiders rushes with the ball against Darqueze Dennard #34 of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.
In preparation for Sunday’s must-win matchup against the LA Rams, the San Francisco 49ers bolstered their cornerback depth this week by signing Darqueze Dennard to the team’s practice squad, per David Lombardi of The Athletic.
Former Michigan State corner Darqueze Dennard joins the 49ers practice squad. Taybor Pepper has a fellow Spartan in the building
Dennard, a former Michigan State football alum, joins fellow Spartan Taybor Pepper in San Francisco.
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The Falcons “Snagged” Dennard From the Jaguars
Prior to heading to the Bay Area, Dennard spent some time with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants this season. But last season, he spent the year with the Atlanta Falcons.
However, he almost ended up landing somewhere else for the 2020 season.
Dennard and the Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly agreed on a three-year, $13.5 million contract that would have paid him $6 million guaranteed back in March of 2020. He was expected to fill the outside corner spot left open by AJ Bouye. Unfortunately for the Jags, the two parties couldn’t come to a contract agreement in a timely manner, so he headed to Atlanta instead.
Dennard grew up 100 miles southeast of Atlanta in Dry Branch and was a high school standout at Twiggs County High. From there, he became a star at Michigan State, which ultimately led to his NFL career.
In 2014, Dennard was the No. 24 overall draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. The first-round pick went on to spend six seasons in Cincy before getting released and picked up by Atlanta.
Through eight seasons so far, Dennard has played in 86 games with 30 starts. He has accumulated 287 tackles, 27 pass breakups and four interceptions in that span.
Dennard Could Help the Niners Get to the Playoffs
The 49ers are currently dealing with an outbreak with five defensive backs on the Reserve/COVID-19 list: Jimmie Ward, K’Waun Williams, Deommodore Lenoir, Ambry Thomas and Dontae Johnson.
They all have a shot at being cleared by Sunday’s kickoff but don’t be surprised if Dennard gets bumped to the active roster, just in case.
“We’ll play some guys you guys probably don’t know yet (if the others aren’t cleared),” Niners’ head coach Kyle Shanahan said during Thursday’s press conference, via 49ersWebzone. “We’ve got a few on the practice squad. Some teams have been in that situation this year, and it’s rough. Fortunately, we haven’t been yet this year. It’s tough that we’ve got a chance to be like that this week. But also the good thing is since they’ve changed the protocols, these guys got it pretty early. They all got it on Monday, so I’m just really hoping with this five day rule that they have no symptoms on Friday night and are allowed to come back on Saturday. It’ll be tough; them missing a whole week of practice is a big deal. But as long as they can play, we’re going to need them.”
The 49ers must beat the Rams in order to clinch a playoff spot and Dennard may or may not play a part in helping them get there. So, stay tuned.
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