It is starting to feel a little bit like déjà vu for the San Francisco 49ers and Mychal Kendricks.
The linebacker was in the house Monday, October 4 to visit and tryout for the Niners, a team with which Kendricks has already signed once this preseason.
Field Yates, ESPN NFL insider, broke news of the meeting and potential reunion on Twitter.
The 49ers hosted LB Mychal Kendricks on a visit. Kendricks was released off of IR last month, but a return to San Francisco could be on the horizon.
“The 49ers hosted LB Mychal Kendricks on a visit,” Yates tweeted Monday. “Kendricks was released off of IR last month, but a return to San Francisco could be on the horizon.”
2nd Time a Charm For Kendricks, 49ers?
GettyNFL free agent LB Mychal Kendricks met with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, October 4, 2021, after signing with and being released by the team in August.
The former defensive starter for the NFC West Division rival Seattle Seahawks signed a one-year deal with San Francisco worth just north of $1.2 million, including a $200,000 signing bonus, on August 16, 2021.
But the marriage was short-lived, as Kendricks hyperextended his toe during his first preseason action with the team. At the time, San Francisco acknowledged that it might be upwards of a month before Kendricks could return to active work, which put his status with the team in immediate jeopardy considering the timing of the injury.
“Any time you have an ankle and a toe, you’re looking at at least a month, so that is something we definitely have to discuss today,” Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan told members of the media during a press session Monday, August 23. “How it plays out for the final roster spot … we will have a decision by tomorrow.”
That decision came when the team placed the defender on the injured reserve list (IR) Tuesday, August 24. The Niners released Kendricks off of IR on September 2, paying the linebacker an injury settlement upon his departure.
Just over one month later, it appears San Francisco has renewed interest in the newly healthy Kendricks. The development tracks with rhetoric that was coming from the Niners’ coaching staff back in August after the linebacker was initially signed.
“It’s not all new to him,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said of Kendricks in relation to the Niners’ defensive scheme. “Maybe new terminology and things like that he just has to translate. But Mych, he’ll grasp the concepts pretty quickly. He’s a good football player, a good veteran player who’s done it in this league, and I’m just excited to add some depth to that room with a veteran who’s done it before.”
Kendricks Boasts Long History of Success in NFL
Getty ImagesLinebacker Mychal Kendricks during practice with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kendricks was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. He spent his first six seasons with Philly before landing with the Seahawks in 2018.
The linebacker spent two seasons in the NFC West before moving on to the Washington Football Team in 2020, where he appeared in just one game.
Over the course of nine years in the NFL, Kendricks has appeared in 104 games, starting 91 of them. He has tallied 536 tackles, defended a total of 30 passes, recorded 19 sacks, forced seven fumbles, recovered five more fumbles and registered four interceptions.
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Niners Hold Tryout For Former Seahawks Starter: Report