This off-season would not be complete if an unrestricted free agent from the San Francisco 49ers did not join the Seattle Seahawks. This happened last week, when Ahkello Witherspoon joined the Seahawks.
On Tuesday afternoon, Kerry Hyder signed a three-year business value $ 16.5 million with Seattle. Hyder, who posted seasons in his career when he played under Niners defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, was bound to make money after the season he had. Good luck to him, but I would say that San Francisco let him walk for a reason.
The Niners needed to get younger and more athletic along the defensive line, and they did this by saving money with the addition of Samson Ebukam. Hyder was a good player and came with less projection like Ebukam – he was never a full-time passer – but he doesn’t have the advantage or versatility of Ebukam.
Ebukam had a higher percentage of sack and pressure than Hyder last season. Ebukam’s pressure percentage was two percentage points higher than Hyder’s. This does not harm Hyder, who won his contract by finding ways to produce along a worn 49ers defensive line.
The real question is, which Seahawks player do the Niners add now? Carlos Dunlap, get down. This is unlikely, as the 49ers have just announced that they have rehired Jordan Willis for a one-year contract.
Willis did not reach 200 clicks with the 49ers last season, but he did enough to impress the coaching staff. Kocurek must have seen enough in Willis to attest to him as a potential rotational piece. In 2019, when the 49ers were at their best, they had a defensive reserve striker who still won their 1-on-1 battles. Hopefully, it could be Willis with another year under Kocurek.