In five days, the San Francisco 49ers will face one of the more prolific and explosive offenses in the league, plus a unit they’re familiar with in NFC West rival the Los Angeles Rams — with the NFC title hanging in the balance at SoFi Stadium.
While the 49ers have had the upper hand in this rivalry with six straight wins, this team is still evaluating who is healthy and who are the best available options to slow down this offensive machine that has put up 34 and 30 on the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively, in the postseason.
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And with that, the 49ers have made the decision to waive one member of the secondary — which one insider believes could clear the way for one roster promotion in the said unit.
Who the 49ers Waived
The 49ers announced before noon on Tuesday, January 25 that safety Jarrod Wilson has been waived.
The #49ers have waived S Jarrod Wilson.
Wilson was set to be a free agent anyway for the 49ers, with his one-year, $990,000 deal set to expire after the season, allowing him to enter the free agent market for 2022 according to Spotrac.
But for the 27-year-old Wilson, it marks the second time since December 2021 that he’s been let go by an NFL franchise.
The 6-foot-1, 209-pounder was released by the New York Jets on December 7 — where he played for former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Wilson appeared in five games for the Jets and finished with 13 tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss.
One highlight moment Wilson was able to squeeze in during his brief time with the Jets: This sack of Pro Bowl quarterback and Most Valuable Player candidate Josh Allen during a November 14, 2021 game against the Buffalo Bills.
A timely sack by Jarrod Wilson off the edge thanks to Jarrad Davis’s position on a WR, Gabriel Davis, in the slot. (It wasn’t pretty downfield.) #Jets
After the Jets let him loose, the 49ers swooped him up and added Wilson to the practice squad on December 9. According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson took 317 total snaps for the 2021 season — but only had eight regular season defensive plays with the 49ers.
In the playoffs, Wilson was primarily used on special teams — lining up on 22 plays on five special team units including running down the field on the kickoff team six times against the Dallas Cowboys.
Wilson, however, never saw action at his natural position of safety. The 49ers went with Dontae Johnson, Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt as their safety lineup in the 23-17 road win over the Cowboys. Ward and Tartt returned to safety against the Green Bay Packers, but rookie Talanoa Hufanga also saw action on the deep end during the 13-10 win over the Packers. Of course, Hufanga is best known from the game for tying things up:
Heads Up Play 💡
2018 All-American Talanoa Hufanga (@TalanoaHufanga) with the touchdown.
With Wilson waived, who do the 49ers turn to or elevate? One insider who covers the 49ers gave one hint.
Injured Safety Soon to Be Activated?
Nick Wagoner, who covers the 49ers for ESPN, not only tweeted the departure of Wilson, but took a wild guess on who could be the replacement: A defender on injured reserve.
If the 6-foot, 208-pound Tavon Wilson does return, it’ll be his first action with the ‘Niners since November 7, 2021 against the Cardinals.
Tavon Wilson got placed on injured reserve on November 15 with a foot injury, which prevented him from playing against the Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Monday Night Football.
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49ers Announce Change in Secondary Before NFC Title Game