Getty Daelin Hayes (facing camera), former Raven and Notre Dame captain.
After spending most of the past two years on the injured list for the Ravens, Daelin Hayes was signed by the Niners on Friday, three days after a tryout with the team went well enough to warrant a one-year deal. Hayes will vie for playing time at outside linebacker, where San Francisco needs depth.
The #49ers signed DL Daelin Hayes to a one-year deal and placed DL Darryl Johnson on season-ending IR, per @TracyFGSN
As a corresponding move, the 49ers are moving defensive end Darryl Johnson to the season-ending injured reserve list.
Hayes was a fifth-year captain for Notre Dame in 2021 and was a fifth-round pick by Baltimore that year. But he did not get much of a chance to play, appearing on the field for only four snaps in one game in 2021, during which he injured his knee. He just could not get back on the field after that, and was on the injured reserve list with an undisclosed injury all of last season.
Hayes had worked out for the 49ers earlier in the week along with defensive linemen Taco Charlton and Breeland Speaks. With Nick Bosa holding out, the team had already signed Charlton to a contract as it tried to upgrade its weak group of frontline defenders around Bosa.
Nick Bosa Poised to Be Highest Paid Defender in NFL History
Bosa’s holdout has been one of the few blots on what has been a good training camp for the Niners so far. He has been holding out for 10 days, and there is no end in sight as his contract squabble drags on, with several other top defensive linemen—most notably Chris Jones of the Chiefs—also looking for new contracts.
Bosa, the No. 2 pick in 2019, should be the highest paid of the bunch, and that is a factor slowing down the process. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said this week on the Pat McAfee show that, “They love Nick Bosa, they are going to sign Nick Bosa, my guess is Nick Bosa will be the highest paid defensive player in NFL history.”
“The 49ers and Nick Bosa will figure out a way to get this deal done..
My guess is that it’ll be a deal that makes him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history” ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive
Of course, as Bosa sits out, he is accumulating fines, to the tune of $50,000 a day. He’s already at a half-million and counting.
But, as Schefter also pointed out, those fines can be rescinded because Bosa is still on his rookie contract.
Patience & Urgency for the 49ers
GM John Lynch was not expecting Bosa to show up for camp, and is hoping that the more the Bosa holdout wears on, the more the pressure on getting a deal done builds up.
“I don’t like not having one of our best players here,” Lynch told reporters on July 31. “We’ve got a really good track record that I’m proud of as a group of having our players in. But I also understand it and understand that we’re going to have to exhibit some patience and understand that ultimately this thing will work out. I’m very confident in that and we’re just going to have to have that right mix of urgency and patience.”
Bosa has been in the Pro Bowl every year he has been in the NFL except 2020, when he was injured and appeared in only two games. He was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro last year, when he led the league in sacks with 18.5 and added 19 tackles for a loss with a career-high 48 quarterback hits.